The rooftops of Paris can now been seen from the heart of Dublin, after a famous Van Gogh oil painting went on display at the National Gallery today.
Van Gogh's 'Rooftops of Paris' (1886), acquired by the National Gallery
The gallery has placed its most recent acquisition, Rooftops of Parispainted in 1886 by Vincent Van Gogh, on permanent display after it was bought last February at Sotheby's in London for €900,000 euro (£602,400).
The work, painted by Van Gogh just a few months after he moved to Paris at the age of 33, is the first work by the Dutch post-impressionist acquired by the gallery.
While in Paris, the painter was introduced to artists such as Renoir, Monet, Degas, Toulouse-Lautrec, Camille Pissarro, and Paul Gauguin.
The painting was in a private collection since the 1920s and is one of four known views of the rooftops of Paris painted by Van Gogh.
This view of the city, painted in the dark tones that characterise his early work, was inspired by the panorama near the apartment the artist shared with his brother Theo, at 54 rue Lepic in the Montmartre district.
National Gallery director Raymond Keaveney described the painting as an important addition to the collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art which has been growing steadily with the recent additions of Pierre Bonnard's Le dejeuner(1923), and two works by the German Expressionist painters, Gabriele Munter, Girl with a Red Ribbon(1908) and Hermann Max Pechstein, Departing Boats, Nidden(1920).
Originally entitled Vue de Paris aux environs de Montmartre(oil on canvas, 45.6 x 38.5cm), the painting will form part of the gallery's permanent display and is on view in Room 45 of the Dargan Wing.
The gallery is also currently hosting an exhibition of 60 masterpieces from the Irish collection of the Ulster Museum in Belfast which is currently undergoing a major refurbishment.
Treasures from the North features works of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and some of Ireland's most distinguished twentieth century artists including John Lavery, Paul Henry and Jack B Yeats. More modern artists include Gerard Dillon, Basil Blackshaw, Patrick Scott and TP Flanagan.
Meanwhile, it has been announced that due to the planned funfair in Merrion Square for the St Patrick's Festival (14-21 March), pedestrian access to the gallery on Merrion Square is restricted.
Visitors may access the Gallery via the Millennium Wing at Clare Street, Dublin 2.
PA