ON THE HORIZON

Opening in April

Titian's First Masterpiece: The Flight into Egypt. Rare chance to see one of the earliest paintings by Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, active about 1506, died 1576) on loan from the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, where it has been undergoing restoration for a number of years. This work has never before been seen outside Russia since its purchase in Venice by Empress Catherine the Great in 1768.
National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN. Tel. +44 (0)20 7747 2885. (Open daily; late Fri) www.nationalgallery.org.uk 4 April – 2 September.

Damien Hirst. With more than 70 works on exhibition this is the first major survey ever held in the UK of work by the always controversial and amazingly talented British artist Damien Hirst (b. 1965). It will include a special display of one of his genuinely iconic works For the Love of God, a diamond clad platinum cast of a human skull.
Sponsored by Qatar Museums Authority.
Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG. Tel. +44 (0)20 7887 8888. (Open daily; late Fri & Sat) www.tate.org.uk 5 April – 9 September.

John Piper and the Church. Important loan exhibition of paintings, stained glass and tapestry designs, drawings and ecclesiastical vestments, more than 50 works in total by major British artist John Piper (1903 – 1992). Curated by Pat Jordan Evans of the Bohun Gallery, Henley-on-Thames. Open daily but check: www.johnpiperandthechurch.co.uk
Dorchester Abbey, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire OX10 7HS 21 April – 10 June.

El Greco and Modernism. A century ago young avant garde artists first saw paintings by the Cretan-Spanish master El Greco (c.1541 – 1614) on exhibition in Düsseldorf and Munich. The impact of his extraordinary art on modern art is the theme of this international loan exhibition comprising some 40 works by El Greco as well as many others by those he inspired and influenced.
Museum Kunstpalast, Culture courtyard, Ehrenof 4 – 5, 40479 Düsseldorf, Germany. Tel. +49 (0)211 8992460. (Open Tues – Sat, late Thurs) www.museum-kunst-palast.de 28 April – 12 August.

Please check opening times and days before travelling any distance.