National Gallery/Louvre collaboration brings Leonardo da Vinci paintings together

London’s National Gallery and The Louvre in Paris have announced plans to unite both versions of Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin Of The Rocks.

The Louvre is to lend its version to the London gallery where it will be displayed as part of a new exhibition. In return, the National will lend the French venue its portrait called The Virgin And Child With Saint Anne And John The Baptist.

The National’s director Dr Nicholas Penny said they are “delighted”. He said that his colleagues were grateful to their French counterparts for the loan of the “celebrated painting” which was created 25 years prior to the National’s Virgin Of The Rocks.

The two exhibitions will mark the artist’s career and will provide a “unique chance” for visitors to study his work. The Lourve’s director Henri Loyrette said the “exceptional collaboration” between the two galleries will provide the “historical juxtaposition long desired by art historians”.

The National’s Painter Of The Court exhibition will start in November and run until February next year. The Louvre’s show will start in March and will continue until June.

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano’) about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia’ column for Dancing Times magazine.