The painting Venus and Mars by Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli has left the National Gallery in London for the first time since its acquisition in 1874.

The artwork, which will be displayed at Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum, is one of 12 paintings from the National Gallery’s collection that are going on loan at 12 locations around the UK to mark the institution’s 200th birthday

The other 11 locations where works from the National Gallery are on loan, and the artists whose work will go on display are: National Galleries Scotland: National, Edinburgh, Vermeer; Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle, Turner; York Art Gallery, York, Monet; Ulster Museum, Belfast, Caravaggio; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Velazquez; Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester, Renoir; National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, Canaletto; Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol, Constable; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, Artemisia; Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, The Wilton Diptych; Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Brighton, Rembrandt.

The paintings will be loaned for between two and four months with the final displays concluding on September 10 2024.

Source: Express and Star