Abu Dhabi: In all 186 masterpieces by Pablo Picasso will be displayed for the first time in the Arab world at an exhibition which opens its doors today in Abu Dhabi.
The exhibition, called 'Picasso Abu Dhabi: Masterpieces from the Muse National Picasso, Paris', will feature paintings, sculptures and drawings.
The exhibition will run in Gallery One of Emirates Palace Hotel until September 4.
It is being held under the patronage of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and sponsored by the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach), and Mubadala Development Company.
Abu Dhabi is the second city in a nine-country tour of the exhibition, after the launch in Madrid's Reina Sofa museum, and it is the only Middle Eastern venue on the tour.
Abu Dhabi will include 40 drawings, prints and illuminated manuscripts reminiscent of the Arab influences Picasso absorbed during his youth in M¡laga, La Cocina and Barcelona.
"This exceptional exhibition helps consolidate Abu Dhabi's standing on the global cultural landscape and is another initiative in the emirate's campaign to expand cross-border cultural dialogue," said Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Chairman of TDIC.
Progress
Anne Baldassari, Director of Muse National Picasso, Paris, and the exhibition's curator, said in a press conference held yesterday in Emirates Palace: "[These] are the works that [Picasso] kept for himself, not simply because they were related to his family or emotional life, his development or his private life, but he kept them above all because they were the keys to his working progress."
