A major exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland this summer tells the fascinating story of how tartan, bagpipes and rugged, wild landscapes became established as enduring, internationally recognised symbols of Scottish identity and how Scotland became established in the popular imagination as a land of wilderness, heroism and history. Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland spans the period from the final defeat of the Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 to the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. The exhibition explores the efforts made to preserve and revive Highland traditions in the wake of post-Jacobite persecution, depopulation and rapid socio-economic change. It shows how Scotland’s relationship with the European Romantic movement transformed external perceptions of the Highlands and was central to the birth of tourism in Scotland. These developments would in turn influence the relationship between the H

Following the most comprehensive painting analysis and conservation treatment the Museum has ever undertaken, Titian’s Rape of Europa is back on display as the centerpiece of the Gardner Museum’s Titian Room. Early next year, as part of a multi-venue exhibition in partnership with the National Gallery, London; the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh; and the Museo del Prado, Madrid; the newly restored Europa will be reunited for the first time in more than 300 years with four other paintings from Titian’s poesie series—widely regarded as one of the most important cycles of mythological painting in the history of western art. Commissioned by King Philip II of Spain and painted between 1551 and 1562, Titian’s poesie (“painted poems”) consist of six monumental paintings of mythological episodes inspired by the ancient Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Acquired in 1896 by Isabella Stew

New scientific research by the National Gallery into Leonardo da Vinci’s The Virgin of the Rocks (about 1491/2-9 and 1506-8) has expanded our knowledge of the composition he began before abandoning it for the version we see today. The drawings, underneath one of the Gallery’s most popular paintings, have been revealed ahead of a new immersive experience featuring the work – created by 59 Productions – that will open later this year. An earlier discovery in 2004/05 revealed that the Virgin’s pose had been changed, but there were only hints of the other figures that were assumed to have been part of that first effort. Following months of cutting-edge research using the latest imaging techniques, more information has been revealed regarding the first and second compositions underneath the painting. Now for the first time Leonardo’s initial designs for the angel and the Infant Christ can be seen, showing

Have you ever wondered what art can be found in the homes of Dayton area collectors? The Dayton Art Institute’s centennial special exhibition, Our Century: Dayton Area Collects, helps answer that question, with a look at local art collections. Our Century: Dayton Area Collects, on view from June 29 through September 22, brings together works from private art collections in the Dayton Area, as well as recent significant and promised gifts to the DAI, as part of the museum’s ongoing centennial celebrations in 2019. The exhibition is organized by the DAI and curated by the museum’s Chief Curator, Dr. Jerry N. Smith. The DAI is the sole venue for this fascinating look at area art collections. “It has been a real treat to visit so many collectors and see such wonderful works people surround themselves with,” Smith said. “The