CANBERRA.- The National Gallery of Australia today announced that the Renaissance exhibition of 15th and 16th century Italian paintings from Accademia Carrara, Bergamo was a resounding success attracting almost 213,000 visitors from all over Australia to Canberra.

The exhibition closed on Monday 9 April, after a four month season, giving Australian audiences their first opportunity ever to see works by Italian Renaissance masters such as Raphael, Botticelli, Bellini and Mantegna.

Director of the National Gallery of Australia, Ron Radford AM said today, “The Renaissance exhibition attracted 212,920 visitors from all across Australia injecting an estimated $75 million into the ACT economy.”

“This makes Renaissance the second most popular exhibition staged at the National Gallery of Australia in the last ten years. We are delighted that so many Australians took the opportunity to see this magnificent collection of Renaissance art and we are very grateful to the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo for lending us their precious works.”

The national marketing campaign made possible through the support of the ACT Government through ACT Tourism and the Gallery’s media sponsors ensured a high profile for the exhibition around Australia, with 81% of visitors to the exhibition coming from outside the ACT. Almost 20% of interstate visitors came from Melbourne and Victoria which represents the highest visitation from this state at a National Gallery of Australia major exhibition.

The introduction of timed ticketing by the National Gallery of Australia allowed visitors to choose a time and day to see the exhibition ensuring that 97% of visitors rated their experience as highly satisfactory.

The painting, Portrait of a Child of the Redetti Household by Giovan Battista Moroni was voted the clear favourite by visitors to the exhibition.

The National Gallery of Australia was only able to secure this exhibition because the Accademia Carrara in Bergamo is renovating its display spaces and is currently closed. The National Gallery of Australia organised the exhibition in partnership with the City of Bergamo and its Pinacoteca Accademia Carrara.

The exhibition would not have been possible without the support of the Australian Government through the International Exhibition Insurance Program, Exhibition Partner - San Remo and Principal Partners - Nine Entertainment Company and NAB.

The Gallery staged a number of special events throughout the Renaissance exhibition which attracted new audiences including the highly popular San Remo Chef and Curator dinners in conjunction with ACT Tourism’s Enlighten Festival in March 2012.