ALBERTINA, VIENNA
September 18, 2026 to January 31, 2027
In a compelling juxtaposition, the large-scale exhibition showcases the two most important figurative painters of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon.
Deeply influenced by Picasso, 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 aspired to be what Picasso had been for the first: a chronicler of humanity in all its fragmentation. Both artists placed human existence at the center of their visual world. Both were preoccupied with the human body—torn apart, reassembled, and reinvented with radical force. In their distorted depictions, they portray pain, desire, and vulnerability, holding up an unflinching mirror to the modern soul. Themes such as crucifixions, screams, bullfights, nudes, and the "tears of Eros" reveal, for both, the drama of life.
Although Picasso himself was not influenced by Bacon, he followed Bacon's career closely. Over 100 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.
IMAGES
64 × 46 cm, oil on paper (© Succession Picasso / Bildrecht, Vienna 2026, © Photo: bpk/Nationalgalerie, SMB, Museum Berggruen/ Jens Ziehe)
Pablo Picasso: Three Lamb Heads, 1939,
65 × 81 cm, oil on canvas (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía © Succession Picasso / Bildrecht, Vienna 2026)
Pablo Picasso: Mother and Child (Study for Guernica), 1937,
130 × 195 cm, oil on canvas (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía © Succession Picasso / Bildrecht, Vienna 2026)
Pablo Picasso: Figure on a Seashore, 1929
, 129.9 × 96.8 cm, oil on canvas (© Succession Picasso / Bildrecht, Vienna 2026, © Photo: bpk / The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Pablo Picasso: Bathers with Ball, 1928,
33.1 × 19.2 cm, oil on canvas (© Succession Picasso / Bildrecht, Vienna 2026, Photo: Moderna Museet / Stockholm)
Pablo Picasso: Seated Bather, 1930
163.2 × 129.5 cm, oil on canvas (© Succession Picasso / Bildrecht, Vienna 2026, © Photo: "Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence, 2026")
Francis Bacon: Figure Study II, 1945/46
145 × 129 cm, oil on canvas (National Gallery of Scotland, on loan from Huddersfield Art Gallery © The Estate of Francis Bacon / All rights reserved / Bildrecht, Vienna and DACS, London 2026)
Francis Bacon: Self-Portrait, 1972,
35.5 × 30.5 cm, oil on canvas (Private Collection © The Estate of Francis Bacon /All rights reserved / Bildrecht, Vienna and DACS, London 2026
Francis Bacon: Three Studies of Isabel Rawsthorne, 1967
124.2 × 157.1 cm, oil on canvas (Neue Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin © The Estate of Francis Bacon / All rights reserved / Bildrecht, Vienna and DACS, London 2026)
Francis Bacon: Portrait Study, 1949
149.4 × 130.6 cm, oil on canvas (Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago © The Estate of Francis Bacon / All rights reserved / Bildrecht, Vienna and DACS, London 2026)
Francis Bacon: Seated Figure, 1955,
152.5 × 117 cm, oil on canvas (Stekelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (SMAK) © The Estate of Francis Bacon / All rights reserved / Bildrecht, Vienna and DACS, London 2026)
Francis Bacon: Figure Study ("Fury"), ca. 1944
, 94 × 74 cm, oil and pastel on fiberboard (Private Collection © The Estate of Francis Bacon / All rights reserved / Bildrecht, Vienna and DACS, London 2026)
