Goya's masterpieces travel to Switzerland
From 10 October 2021 to 22 January 2022, the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland, presents one of the most important exhibitions on the work of Francisco de Goya ever organised outside Spain.
Francisco de Goya - La Maja Vestida - 1800-1808Francisco de Goya - El Aquelarre - 1797-1798
Images: "La maja vestida" (The clothed Maja) (1800-1807). Museo del Prado, Madrid ·· "El aquelarre" (Witches’ Sabbath) (1797-98). Lázaro Galdiano Museum, Madrid.
One of the great giants of art history, sometimes called "the last of the old mastes and the first of the modern", the vast majority of the masterpieces of Francisco de Goya (1746-1828) belong to the Museo del Prado in Madrid, making major exhibitions of his work outside Spain an extraordinary event. With numerous loans from the Museo del Prado, the exhibition presented by the Fondation Beyeler is undoubtedly one of the cultural events of the year.
Among the aforementioned loans from the Museo del Prado, the one that immediately stands out is "The clothed Maja" (1800-1807), one of the most admired works in the museum, and therefore rarely loaned to other institutions. Also noteworthy is the presence of "Witches’ Sabbath" (1797-98) -perhaps the most prized work in the Museo Lázaro Galdiano in Madrid- which is exhibited together with "Witches’ Flight", a work of similar date, size and subject matter from the Museo del Prado.
Portraits are a highlight of the exhibition, which includes two self-portraits by the artist, as well as the famous "Portrait of the Duchess of Alba" (1795) from the Casa de Alba Foundation. Coming from private collections, "Maja and Celestina on a Balcony" and "Majas on a Balcony" (both painted around 1808-1812) show Goya's late style, a clear inspiration for later painters such as Édouard Manet. This late, almost Romantic style can also be seen in "Plague Hospital", from the collection of the Marquis de la Romana.
On the occasion of the exhibition, the French artist Philippe Parreno has created a film based on Goya's Black Paintings (1819-1824), which will be premiered at the exhibition. In addition, the exhibition catalogue has been published in German and English by Hatje Cantz Verlag, and in Spanish by Ediciones El Viso.

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