Being a fan of Caravaggio's paintings, I was very pleased to hear that Caravaggio's last painting, The Martyrdom of St. Ursula, has been lent by a museum in Naples to the National Gallery from April 18 – July 21 (room 46). I look forward to seeing it while I'm in London in June.
The flip side is that I've just read in The London Telegraph that to celebrate the museum's 200th anniversary, The National Gallery will lend 12 of its most popular paintings to other museums in the UK beginning May 10. These are:
Turner: The Fighting Temeraire
Caravaggio: The Supper at Emmaus
Canaletto: The Stonemason’s Yard
Rembrandt: Self-Portrait at the Age of 34
Renoir: The Umbrellas
Unknown: The Wilton Diptych
Monet: The Water-Lily Pond
Velázquez: The Toilet of Venus
Vermeer: Lady Standing at a Virginal
Constable: The Hay Wain
Botticelli: Venus and Mars
Gentileschi: Self-Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria
Knowing in advance about these loans, I won't be disappointed by their absence. Seeing both The Hay Wain and the site where it was painted in Suffolk was a highlight of my 2023 visit to England.