Rare reunion as Caravaggio paintings displayed together at Ulster Museum, Belfast

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s The Supper At Emmaus and The Taking Of Christ are being displayed together at the Ulster Museum in the Northern Ireland capital in a treat for art lovers expected to attract visitors from across the island.

The artworks have rarely been seen together since the first quarter of the 17th century and their display together comes as the result of a successful collaboration and partnership between museums in Belfast, Dublin and London.

Stormont deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, Junior Minister Aisling Reilly and Ireland’s Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin attended the exhibition’s opening event on Thursday evening.

The Supper At Emmaus (1601) is on loan to the Ulster Museum from the National Gallery, London as part of its National Treasures project marking its bicentenary.

Meanwhile the Jesuit Community in Dublin, with the support of the National Gallery of Ireland, has facilitated the loan of Caravaggio’s The Taking Of Christ (1602) in an exhibition sponsored by EY.

Kathryn Thomson, chief executive of National Museums NI, said the collaboration “demonstrates how the arts can help celebrate our shared history and cultural diversity in a way that is inclusive and accessible to all”.

“It is a wonderful bringing together of east-west and north-south partnership, and we are extremely grateful to our industry colleagues in both London and Dublin, and exhibition sponsor EY, who have helped make this happen for people here in Northern Ireland to be able to experience,” she said.

“To see both paintings together in the one location is almost unprecedented, and as such creates a genuine once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for local audiences, as well as an undoubted draw for visitors from further afield.”

The National Gallery developed the National Treasures programme as part of a series of events to mark its bicentenary.

The Ulster Museum is one of 12 museums and galleries across the four UK nations to host a masterpiece from the gallery’s renowned collection, with the aim of bringing more than half of the UK’s population within an hour’s journey of a beloved National Gallery painting.

Alexandra Kavanagh, head of national touring at the National Gallery, London said the Ulster Museum exhibition is what they hoped to spark through the project.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Ulster Museum on National Treasures – it’s wonderful to see this display alongside the National Gallery of Ireland’s equally excellent Caravaggio sums up exactly the sort of dialogues we hoped to spark through this bicentenary project,” she said.

Dr Caroline Campbell, director of the National Gallery of Ireland, also spoke of her pride in the collaboration.

“We are leaders in sharing our collection with audiences on site, online, across the island of Ireland, and internationally,” she said.

“Caravaggio’s The Taking Of Christ is one of the most popular works on show at the National Gallery of Ireland.

“While we’ll miss it when it’s in Belfast, we are delighted to support its display at the Ulster Museum.

“As I was born and raised in Belfast, I’m very proud to see this next phase of collaboration with our colleagues in National Museums NI take place.”

Anne Stewart, senior curator of art at National Museums NI, described the connection between these two Caravaggio paintings as “remarkable”.

“Both were painted for the same patron, Ciriaco Mattei, and originally displayed in the same family palace in Rome,” she said.

“Reuniting Caravaggio’s The Supper At Emmaus and The Taking Of Christ is a highly ambitious and an unusual event as they hardly ever travel and have rarely been seen together since the first quarter of the 17th century.

“This exhibition provides our audiences with an important chance to access these masterpieces in one place.”

The Supper At Emmaus and The Taking Of Christ are on display at the Ulster Museum from Friday May 10 until Sunday September 1.