Installation of “The two brothers” by Pablo Picasso, at Museo del Prado, Madrid
Kunstmuseum Basel, the Art Museum of Basel, is considered as the first Public Museum in the world. Nowadays the main building of Kunstmuseum Basel is being restored, reason for which the museum has handed over a selection of art masterpieces to Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid for a temporary exhibition, opened last March 18th and that will remain in Madrid until September 14th.
On the other hand, 10 masterpieces by Picasso, regularly exhibited at the Swiss Museum, have been installed at Prado Museum. This implies the icing on the cake, the approach of the Kunstmuseum Basel Modern Collection to Spain.
This temporary exhibition that has already at Reina Sofia Museum, will show works of modern and contemporary art from the late 19th century to the present days with artists like Wassily Kandinski, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Edvard Munch, Picasso, Juan Gris, Fernand Léger, Georges Braque, Le Corbusier, Dubuffet, Alberto Giacometti, Yves Tanguy, Hans Arp, André Masson, Piet Mondrian, László Moholy-Nagy, Gerhard Richter, Mark Rothko, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Francis Picabia or Steve McQueen, among others.
Paul Klee at the collection of Kunstmuseum Basel for Museo Reina Sofía
Meanwhile, Picasso´s paintings can be admired at Prado Museum since March 18th until September 14th with the title “10 Picassos of Kunstmuseum Basel”, works dated between 1906 and 1967.
The Swiss Museum was one of the first European centers that purchased Picasso´s paintings (the first one in 1951). These 10 masterpieces that Prado Museum showcases these days are the most outstanding of the museum´s art collection of the Andalusian genius : “The two brothers”, “Man, woman and a child”, “Bread and fruit dish on a table”, “L´aficionado”, “Woman with a guitar”, “Seated Harlequin”, “Woman with hat seated in an armchair”, “The young ladies on the banks of the Seine”, “Venus and cupid” and “The couple”.
Basel City Council organized a referendum in 1967 with the purpose to ask the citizens if they wanted to acquire the masterpiece “The two brothers and seated Harlequin”, with charge to the municipal budget, when the Swiss owners wanted to sell it due to economic reasons. The outcome was overwhelmingly positive, even Picasso donated some paintings to the city: “Man, woman and child” (1906), “Venus and love” (1967) and “The couple” (1967). These paintings are included in the exhibition.
Without any doubt, these two art exhibitions in Madrid are a magnificent and unexpected present for this year. It´s time to enjoy them.