Past exhibitions

Botticelli ● Leonardo ● Cézanne ● El Greco ● Gauguin ● Monet ● Poussin ● Raphael ● Rubens ● Titian ● Turner ● Vermeer

The Greats: masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland is an extraordinary and richly presented showcase of some the world’s most revered old master paintings and drawings by many of the greatest names in European art.

Comprising over 70 outstanding works, all but two will be seen in Australia for the first time, including Botticelli’s exceptional The Virgin adoring the sleeping Christ child. Drawn from the prestigious collection of the National Galleries of Scotland, the exhibition spans a period of more than 400 years from the Renaissance to Impressionism.

Presented exclusively in Australia by the Art Gallery of NSW as part of the Sydney International Art Series, this is a rare opportunity to experience, contemplate and appreciate the grandeur of The Greats.

‘A blockbuster worthy of the title…a gorgeous exhibition’

– Michaela Boland, The Australian

‘…one of the most exquisite collections of old master paintings and drawings to be seen in Australia’

– Sasha Grishin, Canberra Times

‘dazzling’

– Patricia Anderson, Daily Review

Images: Sandro Botticelli The Virgin adoring the sleeping Christ child (‘The Wemyss Madonna’) c1485 (detail), tempera, oil and gold on canvas, 122 × 80.5 cm; Claude Monet Poplars on the Epte 1891 (detail), oil on canvas, 81.8 × 81.3 cm; Paul Gauguin Three Tahitians 1899 (detail), oil on canvas, 73 × 94 cm; Titian Venus rising from the sea (Venus Anadyomene) c1520-25, oil on canvas, 75 × 56.2 cm; Rembrandt van Rijn A woman in bed 1647?, oil on canvas, 81.4 × 67.9 cm; John Singer Sargent Lady Agnew of Lochnaw 1892, oil on canvas, 125.7 × 100.3 cm. Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh © Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland