Piscasso Returns To His Madrid Alma Mater

An exhibition of the works of Pablo Picasso will be held from the 16th February to 15th May, at the San Fernando Royal Academy Of Fine Arts.

The exhibition, entitled, “Picasso: faces and figures,” has been put together in conjunction with the Beyeler Foundation of Basel and featuring 60 works that showcase his facet as a portrait artist.

Curated by Estrella de Diego and Raphael Bouvier, the exhibition includes two of his most emblematic of this genre: The Unknown Masterpiece and The Vollard Suite, which can be seen alongside other pieces of exceptional significance such as The Frugal Meal and other paintings that are being shown for the first time in Madrid in over 25 years.

The Beyeler Foundation has loaned a total of nine paintings and sculptures from across his lifetime, including: Femme (1907), always understood as a preparatory idea for his masterpiece The Ladies of Avignon, as well as Femme assise dans un fauteuil (1910), Femme qui pleure (1937), Buste de femme au chapeau (1939) and Tête de femme (1961), as well as Tête de femme  (1941) – the latter providing a retrospective on the first Tête de femme, painted in 1908, from the Academy’s own collection.

The artist was a pupil at the Academy from 1897-1898 and later returned to Madrid in 1901 before moving to Paris where he lived for the remainder of his life.

During his Madrid days he is said to have been drawn to the works on display at the Prado Museum and in particular to those of El Greco, who was an influence on his style.

Picasso remains one of the most celebrated of modern painters, and seen as the founder of the 20th century Cubist movement.

He is believed to have drawn or painted over 16,000 works during his lifetime.

The most famous being Guernica which can be seen at the Reina Sofia Museum.

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