18.09.2026 – 31.01.2027
This large-scale exhibition presents a fascinating comparison between the two most significant figurative painters of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon. It was under the influence of Picasso that Bacon resolved to become a painter. Throughout his life, he would grapple with this great father figure – and ultimately strive to surpass him. For the second half of the 20th century, Bacon wanted to be what Picasso had been for the first: a chronicler of the human condition in all its turmoil. Both of these artists of the century placed human existence at the centre of their visual worlds. Both were preoccupied with the human body – torn apart, reassembled and radically reinvented. In their distorted depictions, they reveal pain, desire and vulnerability, holding up a merciless mirror to the modern soul. Themes such as crucifixions, screams, bullfighting, nudes and the ‘Tears of Eros’ reveal the drama of life for both artists. Although Picasso himself was not influenced by Bacon, he too followed the latter’s career closely. Around 70 key works from international museums and private collections illustrate, in a striking juxtaposition, the commonalities in the oeuvres of the two masters and Picasso’s significance for the subsequent generation of artists.
Picasso – Bacon – What It Feels Like to Be Human
18.09.2026 – 31.01.2027
Albertina
Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna
www.albertina.at
