Your first chance to see the “new” Leonardo
How the National Gallery negotiated a record eight loans including a long-lost canvas, Saviour of the World
By Martin Bailey | From issue 227, September 2011
Published online 31 Oct 11 (Features)
How does one borrow a Leonardo? The process of negotiating loans is normally shrouded in mystery (except for those involved), so we have delved behind the scenes of the National Gallery’s forthcoming exhibition. Since the gallery maintained its usual discretion, we put together the pieces of the puzzle to discover how it has assembled “Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan”. Opening in November, it looks set to be the most important exhibition of the year in London—and possibly in the world.
The National Gallery faced a formidable challenge, since there are so few paintings by Leonardo. Although specialists disagree on the precise number, curator Luke Syson puts the figure at 15. He wanted all those made for ruler Ludovico Sforza from 1482 to 1499, plus some slightly later works. Unlike most exhibitions, there were no possible substitutes, so every loan request was crucial.
Syson began work in 2007 with eight paintings on his wish list. When the show was announced in May, he had notched up seven pictures, an astonishing achievement. Then came two more. The gallery confirmed on 6 July the loan of Salvator Mundi, a totally new discovery—and the first Leonardo to be accepted for over a century. Three weeks later came news that the Louvre had agreed to the unprecedented loan of its Virgin of the Rocks. So London will host the largest show of Leonardo’s paintings since the legendary Milan retrospective of 1939.
In borrowing for any major exhibition, three factors are vital. First, the venue must have appropriate environmental and security conditions. The National Gallery has an excellent record, although this has been marred by two recent incidents involving its own paintings. These were the disastrous dropping of Beccafumi’s Marcia, 1519, at the de-installation of “Renaissance Siena” in January 2008, and the vandalism of Poussin’s The Adoration of the Golden Calf and The Adoration of the Shepherds, both 1633-34, on 17 July this year (a visitor threw red paint at the works, although this was subsequently removed).
Second, an exhibition featuring important loans needs a strong scholarly basis. Syson, curator of the gallery’s pre-1500 Italian paintings, is well respected internationally (he takes over as head of European sculpture and decorative arts at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art next January). His exhibition concept, focusing on Leonardo’s Milan years, will break new ground.
Third, the paintings must be safe to travel on conservation grounds. Leonardo’s works were done on panel, which makes them vulnerable, but transport arrangements are now very sophisticated. Each painting requested on loan was subjected to a detailed conservation assessment.
