This exhibition celebrates the recent acquisition, jointly with the National Gallery in London, of two outstanding mythological paintings by Titian (c.1485/90–1576). The purchase of the first of these, Diana and Actaeon, was concluded in 2009, and that of its pair, Diana and Callisto, in 2012, and they have only recently gone back on display at the Scottish National Gallery.

The exhibition recreates and expands upon a highly successful exhibition which toured to three venues in the United States in 2010-11. It provides the National Galleries of Scotland with an opportunity to recognise and thank the organisations and individuals who contributed so generously to the acquisition of these hugely important and influential pictures.

The exhibition draws on the Gallery’s exceptionally rich collection of sixteenth-century Venetian paintings, drawings and prints to showcase and contextualise Titian’s two Diana canvases. As well as three additional paintings and a drawing by Titian, almost all of the major names in Venetian art of the period are represented, including Lorenzo Lotto, Palma Vecchio, Jacopo Bassano, Jacopo Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese.

The loan of one additional, highly important painting by Titian – the Death of Actaeon from the National Gallery, London – has been secured. Technical information, comparative images and other interpretative material will enrich the visitor experience and provide deeper insights into the art of this exceptionally fertile creative period in Venice’s history.