The Kiss

It is among thousands of artworks acquired for the UK's galleries - some of which are on show at a major London museum exhibition.

More than 15,000 Classic FM listeners took part, voting for The Kiss ahead of Velazquez's The Toilet of Venus and works by Constable and Renoir.

Some pieces form part of the Saved! display at London's Hayward Gallery.

Nation's favourites 1. The Kiss- Rodin 2. The Toilet of Venus - Velazquez 3. A Regatta on the Grand Canal, Venice - Canaletto 4. The Vale of Dedham - Constable 5. Venus Verticordia - Rossetti

It celebrates the National Art Collections Fund, which has prevented several thousand masterpieces disappearing from public view or going abroad.

The UK's leading art charity, it is marking its centenary year with the exhibition until 18 January.

Others in the top 10 include Canova's The Three Graces; Degas' Little Dancer aged 14; The Wilton Diptych; Renoir's La Place Clichy; and Leonardo's The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist.

Included in the list of 100 were paintings, sculptures, furniture and objects, ranging from Gainsborough's Mr and Mrs Andrews and the Becket Casket to Monet's Poplars and The Great Bed of Ware.

This Velazquez masterpiece is number two in the poll

Rodin's The Kiss (Le Baiser), 1901-04, was acquired by the Tate museum in 1953.

It depicts the adulterous lovers Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini, who were later killed by Francesca's jealous husband.

The story appears in Dante's Inferno, which describes how their passion grew as they read the story of Lancelot and Guinevere together. The book can be seen in Paolo's hand.

Velazquez's sensuous 17th-century nude, also known as The Rokeby Venus, was saved for the nation in 1906 and is permanently displayed at the National Gallery.

It was acquired following the Art Fund's ambitious campaign to raise �45,000 by public subscription in just two months.