The work of Max Ernst and Alberto Giacometti from the collection of the Guggenheim foundation is being shown in the restored Foro Boario in Modena, together with work by Dalí, Picasso and others. The two great masters of the twentieth century encounter one another at a virtual level in the exhibition “Surrealismo e oltre nella collezione Guggenheim”. The exchange between the Swiss sculptor and German painter goes back a long way – already from 1935 onwards Alberto Giacometti and Max Ernst met many times in their studios to discuss sculpture and surrealism. From these meetings was born a strong creative exchange, a source of great interest to Peggy Guggenheim.

The collection shown in Modena brings together works by the two artists taken from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, together with other protagonists of the surrealist movement. It also describes the association which Peggy Guggenheim had with the two artists (who married Max Ernst) and the protagonists of the movement lead by André Breton.

Enthusiasts will find drawings by Giacometti taken from the Guggenheim in New York, including Still life with teapot and cup (1952), Portrait of Douglas Cooper (1956), and Diego (1953), a painting considered to be among the most important portraits of his brother. Sculptures include Spoon Woman (1926), Woman with Her Throat Cut (Femme Egorgée) (1932), the first piece by Giacometti to be cast in bronze, Woman Walking (Femme qui marche) (1932) and the bronze Piazza (1947).

By Max Ernst are on display works which Peggy collected during their association, the sketch for the painting of the The Antipope (1941), along with eleven other works, including The Kiss (1927). From the New York museum a series of prints entitled Histoire Naturelle (1926), made up of 34 lithographs, as well as a bronze sculpture, which alongside those of the Nasher Collection and the Venice collection, The Genius of the Bastille (1960), over three metres high, was inspired by Ernst’s meeting with Giacometti.

until 23.2.2003
Alberto Giacometti and Max Ernst: Surrealism and beyond in the Guggenheim Collection
Foro Boario, viale Berengario, Modena
T +39-059-239888