A LEADING Scottish gallery will reopen this weekend with a display by one of art's most famous names.

Paintings by the Dutch master Rembrandt feature in the exhibition at the Hunterian Art Gallery in the University of Glasgow until December, following the completion of a nine-month refurbishment.

The exhibition, called Rembrandt and the Passion, tells the story of the Dutch artist's commission to complete a series of work on the Passion of Christ for the country's royalty between 1632 and 1646. The Passion of the Christ series were painted by Rembrandt for the Prince of Orange.

Central to the exhibition will be the Entombment painting, which has been loaned to the Hunterian from the Alte Pinakothek gallery in Munich.

A total of about 43 works will be on display, with 22 of them by Rembrandt. The remainder of the works include important pieces by painters including Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Lievens and Federico Barocci.

Loans from other galleries and collections include Rembrandt's drawing The Entombment after Mantegna from the Metropolitan Museum in New York and Rubens' Sketch for the Descent from the Cross from the Courtauld Gallery in London.

Rembrandt van Rijn is the most famous of all Dutch artists and is considered to be one of Europe's greatest painters and printmakers.

Peter Black, the curator of the exhibition, said: "This exhibition really tells a story; it brings together examples of Passion paintings and drawings in order to show how Rembrandt developed our Entombment painting.

"There are interesting relationships with works by his contemporaries."

The gallery, which had closed in January to complete extensive renovations and more space has been created to host exhibitions, hosts the world's largest display of works by James McNeill Whistler and a collection of Scottish art, ranging from the 18th century to the present.

Professor David Gaimster, director of the museum and gallery, said: "This special exhibition at the Hunterian is a great way to mark the relaunch of our art collections. Rembrandt and the Passion is one of the most significant exhibitions to be held here in our 200-year history. It offers a unique opportunity for researchers and members of the public to study these world-famous works together and at first-hand."

The exhibition will also include the results of recent x-ray and pigment analysis on the Entombment Sketch, which has inspired new research.