Picasso and Dali exhibition opens in Romania’s Cantacuzino Castle

The “Picasso & Dali. BESTIAR” exhibition opens on Thursday, November 2, in the art gallery of Cantacuzino Castle in Bușteni, a popular mountain town about 130 km north of Bucharest. It can be visited until March 24, 2024.

Half a century after Picasso’s death and almost 35 years after Dali’s, the exhibition explores the artistic dialogue between the two artists, starting from the many representations of animals in their artistic creations. The show spans almost all mediums in which the two legendary artists excelled, from mixed media to sculpture and etchings, tapestry and ceramics, linocut and lithography, to rare bibliophilic specimens. 

The over 100 artworks are part of a private art collection belonging to the Romanian collector Adrian Șocu, currently based in Paris.

The exhibited works include Picasso’s bullfight scenes, centaurs, and minotaurs, as well as Dali’s horses and fantastic animals. The famous character of Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote, a symbol of exalted idealism, is also present in the works of both artists. 

Moreover, for the first time in 57 years since the first Picasso exhibition in Romania, both the complete suite of 45 Picasso linocuts, Cercle d’Art edition 1962, as well as an exceptional work, “Pottery with Fauns” (Madoura, 1961) are exhibited, a copy of the latter being part of the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 

“We know that this year, 42 exhibitions in 8 countries mark the 50th jubilee of Picasso’s death. We know that Romania has joined this commemorative initiative at the governmental level. The Cantacuzino Castle Art Gallery participates thanks to a private initiative, thus following its long-term vision, that of bringing art and culture closer to Romanians and foreign visitors by leveraging its clear advantage, that of being part of a well-known and highly appreciated tourist destination for visitors in the mountain area. Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali are two magnificent artists who have made an invaluable contribution to global arts, and in our art gallery they have always taken center stage. BESTIAR is the seventh exhibition, in the eight years since the opening of the art gallery, in which we present the art of these titans and we are honored to host this unique project this year”, said Kurt Neuschitzer, administrator and CEO of Cantacuzino Castle in Bușteni. 

The exhibition will be open for visitors between November 2, 2023, and March 24, 2024. It is accompanied by a valuable bilingual catalog with approximately 100 illustrations of the works exhibited. More details are available online Cantacuzinocastle.com. Tickets can be purchased directly at the entrance of the castle, and access to the gallery is only possible through guided tours. 

In 2015, the Cantacuzino Castle Art Gallery was inaugurated, and the first exhibition was dedicated to the Spanish painter Salvador Dali. This was followed by exhibitions with graphic works by the artists Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, but also contemporary art exhibitions with works by local artists, including a sculpture exhibition on the occasion of the Centenary of the Great Union, which brought together 100 Romanian sculptors.

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(Photo source: Castelul Cantacuzino Bușteni)