National Gallery show art of XX century - despite an agreement with the Tate Gallery, which the National Gallery can display only works created before 1900

According to The New York Times, twelve years ago, two major London museums, the National Gallery and Tate Gallery, entered into an agreement under which the National Gallery is committed to showing only the works of art created before 1900. But recently, the National Gallery has violated the agreement, announced plans exhibitions. In February 2009, the museum opens exhibition «Picasso. Defiance of the past », and in November there will be shown the installation of modern artists Ed and Nancy Kinholts (Ed & Nancy Kienholz).

Director of the National Gallery, Nicholas Penny (Nicholas Penny) said that the agreement with the Tate Gallery only concerns the permanent collection and exhibitions, you can arrange them any. But he added that the National Gallery is not scheduled to convert into a museum of modern art.

Exhibitions to be held in 2009 - the real «blockbusters». «Picasso. Defiance of the past »show not only painting, drawing and sculpture, the great Spaniard, but also works by artists who have had an impact on his work. Visitors will be able to see masterpieces from the Louvre and Orsay Museum, including paintings by Rembrandt (Rembrandt), Delacroix Eugène (Eugène Delacroix), Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres) and Édouard Manet (Edouard Manet). A couple Kinholts installation is an exact replica of the famous red-light Amsterdam Quarter. Polurazdetye mannequins will be side by side with Dutch paintings of XVII century dedicated to prostitution.

It is such «blockbusters» Now more than ever, need the National Art Gallery: exhibition held there in 2008, were not very successful. Guide gallery decided that major artists like Rembrandt and Velazquez (Diego Velázquez), and so have all the inside knowledge, so you need to acquaint the public with less well-known names. However, the general public such a strategy is not understood. From March to June in the gallery exhibition was an Italian Baton Pompeo (Pompeo Batoni), which is visited by 19 thousand people - about half the figures on which the organizers had hoped. In summer there could see the works of Italian divizionistov. This exhibition has proved popular than Baton: it was visited by some 30 thousand people, but 10 times less than the number of those who came to see the Velazquez exhibition in 2006. But a significant portion of the earnings of major British museums account for the proceeds from the sale of tickets for the exhibition - at the permanent exhibition entrance is free. Therefore, exhibition of Picasso and scandalous installation Ed and Nancy Kinholts the museum did not interfere.

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: artinfo.com , timesonline.co.uk , nationalgallery.org.uk , artinvestment.ru