Picasso. The Sacred and the Profane

The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum joins in the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso with a special exhibition that will be held from 4 October 2023 until 14 January 2024 with works by the artist and a selection of paintings by old masters from the museum’s collection. It is an exhibition that shows how the artist approached the main themes and genres of traditional European art: history, religion, myths, portraiture and still lifes.

It showcases the spirit with which Picasso looked at the art of the past and transformed it into personal art that is traumatic and existential, as well as dynamic and optimistic. Curated by Paloma Alarcó, this exhibition reveals aspects of the modern identity and new ways of interpreting the history of art through the certainties that characterise the contemporary world.

The eight works by Picasso from the museum’s collection, and various loans from the Picasso-Paris National Museum and other collections and institutions will be on display with a selection of paintings by old masters to show how the artist approached the main themes and genres of traditional European art: history, religion, myths, portraiture and still lifes, organised into three sections: the sacred and the profane, identities and the visual and the tangible.