AN 18th Century painting by Italian artist, Canaletto, is to be loaned to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth by the National Gallery.

The oil painting, The Stonemason’s Yard, is to be loaned to the library in Aberystwyth next year to mark the 200th birthday of the National Gallery.

In all 12 national treasures will be loaned out across the UK, with Aberystwyth being the only location in Wales taking part.

Each partner venue will receive a masterpiece from the gallery’s collection and will curate around it, involving interpretation, community engagement and events, or exhibitions.

For the duration of the displays, 35 million people - more than half the UK population - will be within an hour’s journey of a National Gallery masterpiece.

The partner venues are currently developing plans to curate unique exhibitions, events, and digital interventions to showcase their works.

Some are exploring the industries represented in the paintings and how they link to their own histories and communities; others are using the unique display opportunity to bring new audiences to their local cultural hubs. The paintings will be loaned for between two and four months, with the final displays concluding on 10 September 2024.

The opening of National Treasures around the UK kickstarts a year of Bicentenary celebrations, where three strands of activities showcase the Gallery across the nation; to the community in Trafalgar Square; and to virtual visitors around the world. The ambitious programme showcases the breadth of skill and creativity in the UK cultural sector, and is just as much about looking ahead to the next 200 years in the Gallery’s future as it is about celebrating its past. Concluding the celebrations in May 2025 will be the opening of the new Sainsbury Wing developments in Trafalgar Square.

Christine Riding, Jacob Rothschild Head of the Curatorial Department, said: “We thought carefully about where to send these most iconic and well-loved paintings in our collection.

“As well as being able to look after these works to an extremely high standard, we approached our partners for National Treasures because of their exciting ideas and brilliant reputations within their community. We are very excited to see the interpretation and audiences that our partners will bring to these most treasured paintings.”

Gabriele Finaldi, Director of the National Gallery, added: “In our Bicentenary year, we want to reaffirm our role as the nation’s gallery. Our collection belongs to the UK public and we’re very pleased to work with such an exciting range of partner venues to help realise this.

“These exhibitions provide a unique opportunity for people all over the country to see up close some of the greatest works from the history of Western art – and we hope that many visitors will discover their local museums and be inspired to visit us in Trafalgar Square to see even more of our collection.”

Arts and Heritage Minister, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, says, "Everyone should have access to our country's great treasures, no matter where they live. I'm delighted that these masterpieces will be going on display in galleries across the country so more people can enjoy and be inspired by the National Gallery's world-class collections."

This intimate view of Venice, weatherbeaten and dilapidated, is one of Canaletto’s masterpieces. In the early morning sun, workmen chisel away at pieces of stone. Everyday life continues around them: a mother rushes to comfort her crying child, watched by a woman on the balcony above.

This square – the Campo San Vidal – was not usually a mason’s yard: it appears to have been temporarily transformed into a workshop while repairs are done to the nearby church of San Vidal. The church of Saint Maria della Carità and its campanile (bell tower) are visible on the far side of the Grand Canal.

Painted during the late 1720s, this is one of Canaletto’s finest early works. He has skilfully described various materials and textures: the crumbling plaster, exposed brick, and rough timber in a subtle range of colours. The buildings of different styles and heights, the animated figures and the areas of light and shadow in this theatrical picture may recall the stage sets Canaletto painted at the very beginning of his career.