National Gallery spends £16m on masterpiece by unknown artist
The National Gallery has spent £16.4 million on a rare Renaissance masterpiece by an unknown artist.
The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret and Two Angels, estimated to have been created between 1500-1510, features the Virgin Mary seated with Christ as a child, flanked by saints and angels.
The work features a snarling dragon, an angel plucking a Jew's harp and an 'unruly child showing us his behind on the top right capital'.
The painting, measuring 1.2 metres high, was bought through Sotheby's, with support from the American Friends of the National Gallery London.
It will go on public display from May 10 as part of the gallery's bicentenary celebrations and the reopening of its newly refurbished Sainsbury Wing.
Emma Capron, curator of early Netherlandish and German paintings, said it was a 'rare and exciting addition' to the collection.
She added: 'This altarpiece is the work of a talented and highly original artist, and I hope that ongoing research and the painting's public display will help solve this conundrum in the future.'
Experts remain divided over whether it was painted in the Low Countries or France.
Possible artists include Jan Gossaert, already represented in the National Gallery's collection, and Jean Hey.
Technical analysis shows the oak panel was cut from a tree felled after 1483, with stylistic aspects pointing to a date around 1510.
The painting was first recorded at the priory of Drongen near Ghent in 1602. It later entered private hands and was reportedly housed at the Lulworth Estate in Dorset, home of the Weld family.
The gallery said in a statement: 'With its lack of artist attribution, this painting challenges art historians' tendency to focus on names and demonstrates that for the late medieval and Renaissance periods, anonymity can intersect with extraordinary quality.'
The purchase joins a string of high-profile acquisitions marking the National Gallery's 200th anniversary, including recent additions by Poussin, Alma-Tadema and Eva Gonzales.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Outdoor exhibition of famous art works opens in Stoke-on-Trent
An outdoor exhibition featuring life-sized prints of fifteen famous artworks has on Your Doorstep, featuring works by artists including Van Gogh and Monet, can been seen in Bethesda Gardens, in Hanley, city becomes the first place in the UK to host a National Gallery outdoor exhibition and was chosen to help mark its centenary year."It offers people the chance to encounter art as they go about their everyday life," said Jane Knowles from the gallery. The free display will run until January. The paintings from the national collection were chosen by the arts curator at the nearby Potteries Museum and Art Gallery."It's an absolutely incredible selection of some of the most well known artists and most beautiful paintings ever created," said Ms Knowles. Having the replicas on display in this way allows people to "pause, reflect and connect with no bother at all, not even step into a museum," said the gallery's director of public National Gallery celebrated its bicentenary in 2024, and it was an honour to join in Stoke-on-Trent's centenary, she added. Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
The 1% Club player makes embarrassing blunder on question that had 11 people stumped – could you guess right?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A PLAYER on The 1% Club made an embarrassing blunder on a question that left several others stumped - could you guess correctly? This 70% question eliminated 11 people altogether in the ITV game show. 5 Could you answer this question on The 1% Club? Credit: ITV 5 Lee Mack was shocked by one player's logic Credit: ITV 5 She went on to explain the reasoning behind her choice Credit: ITV Lee Mack had asked the remaining contestants: "Based on the results shown here, which of these sports teams is the best?" The screen showed various final game scores for a selection of fictional teams. Available options included A) Breezers, B) All Stars, C) Flames or D) Gems. Once the 30 second time limit was up, it was revealed 11 people had chosen the wrong team. The correct answer was Breezers, who had successfully won all of their games. Lee then proceeded to turn his attention to eliminated player Zainab. Having asked what she answered, the contestant replied: "I put All Stars. "I didn't even look at the numbers. I just thought, 'Oh, All Stars. They just seem like the best name.'" Lee responded: "Whoa, you didn't just go with what you thought was the best name?" As she nodded to confirm, Lee asked: "What did you think all the numbers were for?" The 1% Club player brands herself 'thick' as she gets easy picture question wrong - but would you have made the same mistake? Zainab explained: "I don't know - I don't watch football or anything like that." To which Lee remarked: "They're not real teams! And it's not even football, it says sport." In another episode, a contestant branded herself "thick" after getting an easy picture question wrong. The players had been asked: "Which of these Vincent van Gogh self-portraits has been altered?" Players had just 30 seconds to examine three photos of the famous painter and pick out the correct answer. The answer turned out to be C - as this featured the legendary Dutch artist wearing earbuds, which weren't invented for another 100-years after his death in 1890. The faked image also played on the fact Van Gogh infamously also cut off one of his ears during a furious row with artist Paul Gaugin. After revealing four people got it wrong, Lee turned his attention to one of these players - Margaret. "Thick as two short planks", Margaret quipped after the spotlight was put on her. The contestant revealed she'd initially chosen C as her answer - only to change her mind. When asked by Lee for her reasons behind changing, Margaret replied: "God alone knows, I don't." The 1% Club airs on ITV1 and ITVX. 5 A total of 11 people got the question wrong Credit: ITV
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Scotsman
Beyoncé Cowboy Carter Tour: What songs did the singer treat fans to in London overnight?
Beyoncé's first night in London looked a success - however, a word of warning for older fans Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The first night of Beyoncé's residency at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium took place overnight (June 5 2025) The Cowboy Carter tour looked to already have thrilled fans and critics after her stunning performance. Here's what the critics thought of the first night, and what Queen Bey performed during the performance. The first night of Beyoncé's celebrated Cowboy Carter tour arrived in London overnight (June 5, 2025), as the singer continues her residency in the capital this month. With five more shows taking place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until June 16, 2025, expectations were high after the singer's celebrated Renaissance tour came to the UK in 2023. From initial reviews, she didn't disappoint. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Critics have praised the first night of her tour, with the BBC stating in its review of the show that 'Every element of the performance was flawless, from the 43-year-old superstar's stunning array of costume changes (each one featuring more rhinestones than the last) to the seamless transitions between songs and musical themes.' Though the price of tickets has been a point of contention ahead of the shows, The Guardian's Alexis Petridis commented that 'Whatever you paid for your tickets, you do get an awful lot of Cowboy Carter for your money. The album's contents take up almost half the set.' Here's what Beyoncé performed during her first night in London on her Cowboy Carter tour. | Getty Images for iHeartRadio However, he did state that for fans of her previous works, 'the big hits, when they come, arrive in truncated form, as if she feels obliged to perform them and is keen to get them out of the way: 'Crazy In Love', 'If I Were A Boy', 'Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It).'' Meanwhile, in its 5-star review of the show, The Telegraph called the first night 'a show of spectacle and seduction, of bone-rattling volume and heart-beating musicality, of surprisingly hard-hitting politics and uplifting emotion.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fan reaction was incredibly positive, with some on X singling out her performance of IRREPLACEABLE one of the highlights of the evening - with one user commenting 'The crowd is singing word for word. A legend. The greatest living entertainer' What did Beyoncé perform on the first night of her London shows? According to , Queen Bey performed the following songs during her first night in the capital - an indicator what fans could expect when they see her during the remainder of her shows, perhaps? AMERIICAN REQUIEM Blackbird (The Beatles cover) The Star-Spangled Banner (John Stafford Smith & Francis Scott Key cover) (Includes elements of Jimi Hendrix's instrumental arrangement originally performed at Woodstock) Freedom (shortened) YA YA / Why Don't You Love Me OH LOUISIANA PROPAGANDA (contains elements of Those Guys' "An American Poem" and Death Grips' "You Might Think He Loves…") AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM (contains elements of "AMERICA HAS A PROBLEM (feat. Kendrick Lamar)" and "SPAGHETTII") SPAGHETTII (contains elements of "ESSA TÁ QUENTE", "WTHELLY","***Flawless", "Run the World (Girls)" & "My Power") Formation (shortened) MY HOUSE (contains elements of Wisp's "Your Face" and "Bow Down") Diva (contains elements of Soulja Boy's "Crank That", GloRilla's "TGIF" & David Banner's "Like a Pimp") TRAILER (contains elements of Justice's "Genesis", JPEGMAFIA's "don't rely on other men" and "I Been On") ALLIIGATOR TEARS JUST FOR FUN PROTECTOR (contains elements of "Dangerously in Love") FLAMENCO PEEP SHOW (contains elements of Marian Anderson's "Deep River", Nancy Sinatra's "Lightning's Girl") DESERT EAGLE RIIVERDANCE II HANDS II HEAVEN TYRANT (contains elements of "Haunted") THIQUE (shortened; contains elements of "Bills, Bills, Bills" and "Say My Name") LEVII'S JEANS (shortened) SWEET ★ HONEY ★ BUCKIIN' / PURE/HONEY / SUMMER RENAISSANCE (Mashup) OUTLAW (50FT COWBOY) (contains elements of BigXthaPlug's "The Largest" and Esther Marrow's "Walk Tall") TEXAS HOLD 'EM (PONY UP REMIX; contains an excerpt of "CHURCH GIRL") Crazy in Love (Homecoming version; shortened; contains elements of Cassidy's "I'm a Hustla") Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (shortened; contains elements of "Get Me Bodied") Love on Top (shortened; contains elements "Freakum Dress") Irreplaceable (shortened) If I Were a Boy (shortened; contains elements of Jolene (COWBOY CARTER version)) Jolene (Dolly Parton cover) (COWBOY CARTER version; contains elements of "Daddy Lessons") Daddy Lessons BODYGUARD II MOST WANTED (snippet; contains elements of "Blow") CUFF IT (shortened; contains elements of "Dance for You", "SMOKE HOUR II" and "CUFF IT (Wetter Remix)") HEATED (shortened; contains elements of 803Fresh's "Boots on the Ground") HOLY DAUGHTER (contains elements "Ghost" and "I Care") DAUGHTER OPERA (contains elements "ENERGY") I'M THAT GIRL (shortened; contains elements of "APESHIT"; had wardrobe malfunction as gold chaps fell down; robot f) COZY ALIEN SUPERSTAR (shortened) ENERGY (shortened; contains elements of "Countdown" & 'Lose My Breath'; first time on Cowboy Carter tour) COWBOY CARTER RODEO (contains elements of "PURE/HONEY", "Say My Name," "Top Off" & "Déjà Vu") LEGACY (contains elements of Michael Jackson's "I Wanna Be Where You Are") 16 CARRIAGES (contains elements of "Ego" & "Halo" and an excerpt of "That's Why You're Beautiful") AMEN Were you at the first night of Beyoncé Cowboy Carter tour in London or are you heading along to one of her future shows over the next week? Let us know your thoughts and experiences of the shows by leaving a comment down below.
