Cantacuzino Castle’s Art Gallery in Bușteni inaugurates a new exhibition, called “Goya & Dali. Controversials”, a rare project in the European cultural space and beyond. The exhibition is dedicated to the two renowned Spanish artists who made history both through their art and through the controversies sparked along with it. Starting on November 4, visitors will have the chance to admire over 100 ethcings and lithographs signed by Francisco de Goya and Salvador Dali, respectively, all belonging to the lawyer George Şerban’s private European art collection.
„The << Goya & Dali. Controversials >> exhibition organized in Bușteni is the result of a collaboration between Brukenthal National Museum, George Şerban Art Collection and Cantacuzino Castle. This art project started in 2021, on the occasion of Goya’s 275th anniversary and the celebration of 140 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Spain. Exhibitions with works signed by Goya were organized in Iași, Bistrița and Oradea, and in the fall of 2021 in the Romanian Parliament, to celebrate the National Day of Spain. This year, the exhibition << Goya and Dali, The Curse of War >> was opened at Brukenthal National Museum, as part of the Sibiu International Theater Festival. This time, the exhibition present in Bușteni premieres several works made by Dali based on Goya’s etchings. Therefore, we invite the audience to the largest exhibition in Romania with Goya and Dali artworks. We are noticing, in a controversial and tumultuous time like ours, that throughout history there have been slip-ups that have brought suffering and pain. The knowledge of history, told this time through art, helps us to understand that man can often fight against man, and that history should mature us and make us even more aware that, in our different jobs, some decisions made can also have disastrous effects. This exhibition, beyond its effect and artistic modernity, also bears a strong message”, said Alexandru Constantin Chituță, curator of the exhibition and interim manager of the Brukenthal National Museum.
The “Goya & Dali. Controversials” exhibition brings to the public’s attention two Spanish artistic personalities that are both different and similar. Focusing around the famous series of 80 engravings, entitled “Los Caprichos” and first created by Goya towards the end of the 18th century, being resumed, then, by Salvador Dali in the 20th century, the exhibition presents the satire addressed to the society by both artists, valid until this day. 32 of Francisco de Goya’s „Whims” („Los Caprichos”) and 14 original lithographs from Dali’s „Whims” series will be displayed. Among Goya’s works is „The sleep of reason produces monsters”.
In the exhibition, visitors will also be able to admire etchings from the complete “Tauromaquia” series, which presents the Spanish bullfights in Goya’s vision, but also a part of the “Disasters of War” cycle, which includes testimonies of the same artist, who was a witness to the Napoleonic invasion of Spain and the revolts of his countrymen, together with several lithographs made after the famous works of the painter Salvador Dali.
The exhibition „Goya & Dali. Controversials” will be open between 04.11.2022 – 26.02.2023. More details are available online at www.cantacuzinocastle.com. Tickets can be purchased directly at the entrance of the castle, and access to the gallery is made through guided tours. For group bookings, a phone call to the number (+40) 244320520 is required.
Artworks from: George Șerban European Art Collection
Cantacuzino Castle in Bușteni was built in 1911, at the request of Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, nicknamed “Nababu”, serving as a summer residence for the noble family and being at its inauguration one of the most modern buildings in Europe.
In 2010, the historical monument, meanwhile privately owned, was opened for the first time for visitors, with the aim of giving everyone the chance to admire a part of the Nabab’s heritage. Since then, it has become one of the most important cultural and tourist attractions in Prahova Valley.
In 2015, the Cantacuzino Castle Art Gallery was opened with a first exhibition dedicated to the Spanish painter, Salvador Dali. It was followed by exhibitions of famous graphic works created by artists Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as by contemporary art exhibitions showcasing works by artists Andrei Gamarţ, Nadine Kseibi, Mirela Iordache and the Society of Figurative Artists from Romania, as well as by a large sculpture exhibition that celebrated the Centenary of the Great Union, bringing together 100 Romanian sculptors. These regular exhibitions were followed by many others, in an attempt to delight visitors with art works of international distinction.