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1/04/2019

Balthus - Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza

The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza presents a retrospective exhibition on the work of the French artist Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (1908‒2001), known as Balthus. (10.02.2019 - 26.05.2919) It is organised in conjunction with Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel, where it is on show until January 2019, with the generous support of the painter’s family.
Hailed as one of the great masters of twentieth-century art, Balthus is undoubtedly also one of the most unusual painters of his time. His diverse, ambiguous paintings, as admired as much as they are rejected, developed in virtually the opposite direction to the avant-garde movements. The artist himself explicitly stated that some of his influences in art historical tradition were Piero della Francesca, Caravaggio, Poussin, Géricault and Courbet. A closer analysis also reveals references to more modern movements such as New Objectivity and the devices used in the illustration of popular nineteenth-century children’s books such as Alice in Wonderland. His indifference – which could be described as ‘post-modern’ – of modern trends, Balthus developed a unique, personal figurative style that defies classification. (Text: Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza)