From the National Trust website
Early European masterpieces are presented in a refreshing new way following restoration, new lighting and placing them in a different context – Petworth’s modern gallery. Including previously unexhibited works of international importance from the private collection of Lord and Lady Egremont, this new exhibition highlights just how significant the collection at Petworth is.
These extraordinary artworks are displayed alongside exciting and rarely seen Renaissance treasures from Petworth, including Thomas Harriot’s drawings of the moon’s surface, which pre-date those of Galileo and are the earliest in existence. In fact they were deemed so accurate that they were studied by Russian scientists who visited Petworth House in the 1960s, before launching their first moon rocket into space.
Your visit will begin with our famous 16th-century full-length portrait of Henry VIII from the studio of Hans Holbein, recently returned from its celebrated role in the Real Tudors exhibition (London and Paris).
Normally displayed in the panelling of the carved room, the painting is hung at a height that will allow you to closely examine its sumptuous detail. Likewise The Adoration of the Magi by attributed to Hieronymus Bosch and works by Rogier van der Weyden and Adam Elsheimer, sing with rich detail and colour in this modern gallery setting.
From the private collection, Andrea del Sarto’s Madonna and Child with Saint John and Paris Bordone’s Portrait of a young woman are of international importance. These works were not accepted by HM Government in the 1950s, when a portion of Petworth’s art collection became the first to be given in lieu of inheritance tax. They would now be considered worthy of inclusion within a national collection.