Flight into Egypt

Today the National Gallery in London opened Titian's First Masterpiece: The Flight into Egypt in the Sunley Room, admission free (title link). The painting of the title (above) was Titian's first major commission, when he was still a teenager. It's on loan from the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, and hasn't been seen outside Russia since Empress Catherine the Great bought it in Venice in 1768. It has been restored and is accompanied by more than 20 paintings by Titian’s Venetian contemporaries, including Bellini, Giorgione, Sebastiano del Piombo and also Albrecht Dürer, who visited Venice at the time Titian began this painting. The show runs till 19 August. It's a must.