Eight Italian Baroque masterpieces from the collection of the art historian and connoisseur, Sir Dennis Mahon, will be permanently displayed at the National Gallery in Dublin following the resolution of legal technicalities about their future announced by the British Arts Minister, Mr Alan Howarth, yesterday.
Among the paintings that will be permanently available to the public are Guido Reni's 17th-century The Suicide of Cleopatra and Guercino's Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph.
Sir Dennis, whose great-uncle, Mr John Ross Mahon, was one of the founding partners of the Guinness Mahon Bank, spent 40 years acquiring a collection worth more than u£20 million.
Many of the works have been on loan to the Pinacoteca Nazio nale in Bologna, the National Gallery and galleries in Britain for years. But Sir Dennis was concerned that upon his death and the passing of his title, the Italian masterpieces in Ireland and Italy might not be granted additional export licences and would be returned to Britain.
However, after holding talks with Sir Dennis, the Arts Minister announced the granting of permanent export licences for the eight Baroque paintings displayed in the National Gallery.
The paintings and seven other Baroque paintings on display at the Pinacoteca Nazionale will pass permanently into the respective collections after Sir Dennis's death. Another 58 paintings from his collection have been donated to the National Art Collections Fund for permanent allocation to galleries in Britain.
In what Sir Dennis described as a "swings and roundabouts" deal ensuring the Art Collections Fund in Britain benefited from his donation to the National Gallery, he has indirectly pledged £100,000 sterling to the fund. An Italian-based foundation related to the Pinacoteca Nazionale has pledged $1.6 million to the Art Collections Fund.
But most importantly, Sir Dennis, who is 89, told The Irish Times he was glad his paintings had all found good homes. "At this age one really must get things in order," he said. "The paintings in the National Gallery will fit in very well with its collection. I have always been very interested in the National Gallery. It has had a tremendous renaissance in recent years, and I hope eventually that I will get over and see the paintings."
The Director of the National Gallery, Mr Raymond Keaveney, said he was immensely grateful to Sir Dennis. His paintings had "hit the sweet spot" with the public and represented an important addition to its collection of Italian masterpieces.
"The most important piece in the collection is Guercino's Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph and it was the first painting acquired by Sir Dennis. It is a great masterpiece that helped establish Guercino," he said.