Abertis Infraestructuras : , via its subsidiary A4 Holding, is bringing Picasso to Italy in an exhibition entitled "Between Cubism and Classicism"

Barcelona, 21 September 2017

Abertis, via its Italian subsidiary A4 Holding, is bringing unique works by Picasso to Rome. The exhibition, entitled 'Between Cubism and Classicism: 1915-1925', will be open to the public from 22 September to 21 January 2018 at the Scuderie del Quirinale museum.

The presentation ceremony for the exhibition was attended by a number of dignitaries, most notably the President of Italy, Sergio Matarella; the Italian Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini; the Chairman of A4 Holding, Carlos del Río; and the Director of Institutional Relations and CSR of Abertis, Sergi Loughney.

Carlos del Río underscored the importance of this collaboration with the Museum Scuderie del Quirinale, which it is hoped will stimulate further exchanges of the rich cultures of Spain and Italy. Also noteworthy in this regard is the exhibition entitled 'From Caravaggio to Bernini ', which was open to the public until 30 July in the same museum.

For his part, Sergi Loughney stressed the importance of the sponsorship of culture to Abertis, which further illustrates the Group's commitment to making culture accessible to a wide public as it strives to add value to the company within the framework of its corporate social responsibility policy.

The exhibition

'Between Cubism and classicism: 1915 - 1925' has 191 works, including oil paintings, photographs, drawings and letters chosen by curator Olivier Berggruen with Anunciata von Liechtenstein. Among these, the 'portrait of Olga in an armchair' (1918),'Leónide Massine in Harlequin'(1917),'Still life '(1919),'Two women running on the beach (the race)'(1922),'The pipes of Pan'(1923) or' Harlequin with a mirror'(1923).

The works come from up to 38 destinations in Europe, United States and Asia, as the Musée Picasso in Paris, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Tate in London, MOMA in New York, or the Fundació Museu Picasso de Barcelona, to name only a few.

The aim of the exhibition is to recall, one hundred years later, the trip that Picasso made to Rome and Naples accompanied by Cocteau and Stravinsky, following Sergei Diagilev's Ballets Russes dance company. The exhibition sets out to provide a complete visual account of Picasso's relationship with Italy, from the Neo-classical hints inspired by ancient sculptures and the Roman Renaissance to realist tendencies stemming from the discovery of murals on the walls of Pompeii.

This exhibition is the latest of works by the same artist supported by the Abertis Group in recent years via its Foundation and its subsidiaries. These shows were entitled 'Piety and Terror in Picasso. : The Road to Guernica', staged at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid; and 'Picasso Primitif', which could be viewed at the Quai Branly museum in Paris until this summer. In 2016, Abertis staged the biggest Picasso retrospective in recent years in Brazil and Chile entitled 'Picasso: Erudite Hand, Wild Eye'. The exhibition contained a total of 116 works by the artist, most on display to the public for the first time.

Abertis' commitment to culture

This partnership provides further evidence of Abertis' commitment to culture, collaborating with the most important cultural institutions of the countries where the Group is present with the aim of bringing culture to the general public and supporting public administrations in this endeavour. Cultural sponsorship is at the heart of Abertis' Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility Plan, in which the company regards culture as an asset that enriches individuals and enhances life quality.