Titian masterpiece saved in £45m deal

Titian’s masterpiece Diana and Callisto has been saved for the nation in a £45 million deal.

The oil painting, one of a series of six created for King Philip II of Spain in the 16th century, was bought after a fundraising campaign which saw the National Gallery in London pledge £25 million towards the cost of keeping it in the country.

It will remain on show with another of Titian’s works, its companion piece Diana and Actaeon, and be shared between the gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.

National Gallery director Nicholas Penny said: “For more than a hundred years these two great paintings by Titian have been regarded as pre-eminent among the masterpieces in private hands in the UK.

“We have been able to secure both of them for the public, in a period of economic hardship, because of the esteem and affection that both institutions have enjoyed for many decades.

“It is a triumph for us, but also for our predecessors, made possible by today’s supporters, but also by benefactors who have long departed.”