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 BBC Scotland arts correspondent Pauline McLean"The painting will go on show around the country"  real 28k  Gallery director Timothy Clifford"A most attractive and lovely thing"  real 28k |
New home for £15m masterpiece
Botticelli's most famous work: The Birth of Venus |
A £15m Renaissance masterpiece saved for the nation has been unveiled by the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The purchase has prevented the Madonna and Child, by the Italian Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli (c.1445-1510), from going abroad.
There were fears it would be bought by the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, after the owner, the Earl of Wemyss and March put it up for sale.
The asking price for the painting was £15m but taking into account tax advantages, the gallery secured it for £10.25m. The money was raised in less than three weeks from private benefactors, banks and the Scottish Executive.
Timothy Clifford: "It's a very beautiful painting" |
He admitted that at first, there were doubts about whether it was a genuine Botticelli.
But its authenticity has since been proved and Mr Clifford said: "We have x rays and infra-red reflectology to show all the under-drawing and all the alterations that went on in the genesis of this painting.
"I think that anybody would realise now that one is in front of a masterpiece and i just felt rather foolish in the past not taking it as seriously as I should have done."
Demands for cash
The National Gallery of Scotland stepped in with money from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the National Arts Collection Fund.
The heritage fund contributed £7.6m towards the price. Trustee and chairman of its committee for Scotland, Sir Angus Grossart, said he appreciated there were many other demands on the fund for cash.
 National jewels should be seen in other parts of the country  |
| Donald Dewar |
"The fact of its expense and that it has become available at short notice means that we are one of the few bodies capable of taking such prompt decisions.
"As this is a work of international importance - it is a very significant painting that will become much loved and much seen by the people of Scotland.
Purchase 'will be applauded'
"Self-confidence in Scotland is very high at the moment. One of the expressions of self-confidence is cultural awareness.
"I think that the purchase will be widely applauded and deserves to be."
Madonna and Child: One of Botticelli's finest works |
The four-foot canvas was last seen in public in 1957, having been acquired by the aristocratic family in the 19th Century.
Considered to be the most important painting of its period in a private collection when it was put up for sale, it had hung at the Earl of Wemyss and March's family home, Gosford House, in East Lothian.
Scotland's First Minister Donald Dewar, who unveiled the painting at the Edinburgh gallery, told an audience he was "absolutely delighted" that the painting was remaining in Scotland.
He said: "I'm assured that it is a painting of tremendous quality. I am pleased that the lady is going to be going on her travels throughout Scotland - that's no bad thing.
"National jewels should be seen in other parts of the country."
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National Galleries of Scotland |
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Sandro Boticelli Biography |
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