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On January 17, London’s National Gallery will send Edouard Manet’s ‘The Execution of Maximilian’ on a tour of the UK. The painting is the first work to embark on the three-year Masterpiece Tour, which is part of the National Gallery’s commitment to promote the understanding, knowledge and appreciation of Old Master paintings. In 2015, Canaletto’s ‘A Regatta on the Grand Canal’ will join the Masterpiece Tour, followed by Rembrandt’s ‘Self Portrait at the Age of 63’ in 2016.

‘The Execution of Maximilian’ depicts the Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian being executed alongside two of his generals. Mexican forces captures Maximilian, who was installed in Mexico as a puppet emperor by Napoleon III when Napoleon withdrew his French troops who had been occupying Mexico. After its completion in 1868, the painting was cut into smaller pieces, some of which were sold individually. Edgar Degas eventually purchased all of the surviving fragments and reassembled them on a single canvas.

‘The Execution of Maximilian’ will be on view at the Beaney House of Art & Knowledge through March 16. It will then travel to the Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle (March 22-May 18) and the Mead Gallery at the University of Warwick (September 27-December 6). 

London’s National Gallery announced that they will send three cherished works from their collection on a tour of galleries and museums around the country between 2014 and 2016. Édouard Manet’s (1832-1883) The Execution of Maximilian (circa 1867-8), Canaletto’s (1697-1768) A Regatta on the Grand Canal (circa 1740), and Rembrandt’s (1606-1669) Self Portrait at the Age of 63 will comprise the traveling exhibition titled The Masterpiece Tour (1669).

Officials at the National Gallery hope that The Masterpiece Tour will promote understanding, knowledge, and appreciation of Old Master paintings to a wider audience. Christie’s is assisting the museum with the endeavor and will send one masterpiece on tour per year. Each annual tour will run from January to July and visit three different regional museums, spending approximately six weeks in each venue.

The first painting to go on tour in 2014 will be Manet’s masterpiece depicting Austrian Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian’s deadly capture by Mexican forces. The work was cut up after the artist’s death and the fragments were eventually purchased by Edgar Degas (1834-1917) and reassembled on a single canvas. The painting has been a part of the National Gallery’s collection since 1918.

Canaletto’s painting of the annual carnival regatta in Venice will tour during 2015 and Rembrandt’s self-portrait, which was painted during the final year of the artist’s life, will go on tour in 2016. The poignant work has been on display at the National Gallery since 1851.