A striking painting stolen over 40 years ago is to go on display in Scotland for the first time as part of a new exhibition.
For the first time ever in Scotland, the National Galleries of Scotland is exhibiting "one of the finest and most significant" collections of drawings and watercolours direct from Chatsworth in Derbyshire.
Home to the Devonshire family for almost five centuries, Chatsworth House is home to one of Europe's most important private art collections.
Dürer to Van Dyck: Drawings from Chatsworth House will take over the lower galleries of the Royal Scottish Academy building from Saturday.
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As part of the exhibition, the striking double portrait painting of featured artists Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck will make its Scottish debut.
The intricate artwork by Flemish artist Erasmus Quellinus II was taken whilst on loan to an art gallery in Eastbourne in 1979. It was remarkably tracked down by the Belgian art historian, Bert Schepers, who identified it at a small regional auction house in Toulon, France in 2021. Since then, a team who specialise in recovering lost artworks worked hard to get it back to its owner. The double portrait was reinstated at Chatsworth earlier this year.
The exhibition will feature almost 50 rarely-seen drawings by some of the most famous names in European art, including Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Younger, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt van Rijn and Anthony van Dyck. All but two of the artworks on display in Scotland for the first time ever.
Tico Seifert, Senior Curator of Northern European Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “This exciting partnership with Chatsworth presents a rare opportunity to bring a world-renowned collection of drawings to Edinburgh for the first time. Dürer to Van Dyck: Drawings from Chatsworth House spans two hundred years of exceptional artworks by many of the best-known names in the art world, and it invites an intimate look at some of the most beautiful drawings they ever created.
"It’s a privilege that the National Galleries of Scotland becomes the first and only venue to display these timeless works of art in this specially crafted exhibition and we cannot wait to share it with our visitors.”
Alice Martin, Head of the Devonshire Collections said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with the National Galleries of Scotland on this exhibition. We are always looking at ways to increase access to the Devonshire Collections, especially for those unable to visit Chatsworth, and share works with new audiences. We hope that people will take the opportunity to visit the Royal Scottish Academy and enjoy this wonderful collection of drawings and watercolours.”
Dürer to Van Dyck: Drawings from Chatsworth House, a National Galleries of Scotland exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy, runs from Saturday, November 9 to February 23, 2025
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