Discover the Artistic Dialogue: Picasso & Klee Masterpieces from Heinz Berggruen Collection

This exhibition presents a selection of fifty masterpieces by Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee from the renowned Heinz Berggruen collection, now part of the Museum Berggruen in Berlin. It explores the visual and intellectual dialogue between these two favorite artists of the collector.

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum features a significant selection of fifty masterpieces by Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee, drawn from the collection of the German dealer and collector Heinz Berggruen, which is now housed at the Museum Berggruen in Berlin. Heinz Berggruen, a prominent figure in the art world, built a legendary gallery in Paris and amassed an extraordinary personal collection of 20th-century art. This exhibition aims to showcase different facets of his collection through international presentations, with this particular showing in Madrid facilitating a constructive visual and intellectual dialogue between Picasso and Klee, two artists Berggruen held in high regard. While Picasso and Klee represent contrasting artistic temperaments – the former southern, earthly, excessive, and sensual; the latter Nordic, spiritual, introspective, and intellectual – they also shared thematic interests, a spirit of experimentation, and a similar reductive and deformative approach. Both artists pushed the boundaries of form and body through geometry and organic mutation, using art as a tool of transgression. Their revolutionary, though seemingly antinomic, formulas for deconstructing reality transformed how contemporary viewers perceive the world. The exhibition is structured into four thematic sections: 'Portraits and Masks,' 'Places,' 'Things,' and 'Harlequins and Nudes,' exploring the connections and unexpected interplay between their works. Each section is further enriched by selected pieces from the Thyssen's own collection, some of which were previously owned by Berggruen, highlighting the close relationship between the artists.

Admission to the museum is free for Friends of Thyssen. Details on how to become a Friend of Thyssen are available on the museum's website. General admission information and ticketing are available separately for the museum. The exhibition is presented as part of the museum's offerings, implying standard museum admission applies unless otherwise specified for special events.