From April 7th until June 30th, the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta is opening its doors to The Flesh and the Spirit - a remarkable collection of works by two major Spanish artists of the 20th century: Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró.

The two notoriously influential artists were friends throughout their lives, first meeting in 1920 when the 27-year-old Miró visited Picasso, aged 40, in his studio on rue de la Boétie in Paris.

By this time, Picasso had abandoned cubism in favour of a classical style, which was influenced by the French Neoclassical painter Ingres (the style coined ‘ingresque’ by some).

At the time, Paris held a large artistic community of notorious painters, writers and poets, and the two artists moved in the same circles, although Miró gradually affiliated himself with the surrealist and Dada groups.

In 1928, Picasso met and fell in love with the young Marie-Thérèse Walter, which inspired a new period. Meanwhile, Miró experienced a spiritual and emotional crisis from which he would emerge when he met Pilar Juncosa, whom he would marry in 1929. The two artists remained in touch throughout these years.

In 1937, Miró and Picasso exhibited alongside each other at the Spanish Republic Pavilion at the International Exhibition in Paris. Miró introduced his large-format painting The Reaper, while Picasso exhibited the famous Guernica.

Eventually, Miró went into internal exile when he moved to Palma de Mallorca in 1940, during the years of the dictatorship, while Picasso turned to a life-long exile when he moved to France, never to return to Spain.

Now, their works are side by side again, right here in Malta. Part of a major international project Picasso-Méditerranée, this is a Musée National Picasso-Paris initiative, taking place in tandem with 60 other cultural hubs around Europe to celebrate Picasso's special bond with the Mediterranean. Picasso and Miró: The Flesh and the Spirit consists of a selection of works in a bid to explore the different possibilities modern art offered the artists with the full Suite Vollard, composed of 100 etchings by Picasso (there are only three collections of the entire suite in the world!) which were produced in the 1930s for the legendary art dealer, Ambrose Vollard, and 44 paintings by Joan Miró.

The intention of the exhibition is to delve into the soul of two of the most significant artists of the 20th century through their powerful passions, feelings and inspirations, as well as to demonstrate the significance of their personal universes, full of symbols, which depict their personalities.

While you're there...

Take in the impressive Grandmaster's Palace. The administrative centre of Malta for almost three and a half centuries, the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta is an ideal venue for the exhibition. Originally built in 1571, the palace was the seat of the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitalliers of St John and later, during the British colonial period, served as the Governor’s palace. It currently serves as home to the House of Representatives of Malta and the office of the President of the Republic of Malta.

Fundación Map­fre is bringing this exhibition to Malta in collaboration with the Office of the President of Malta and Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti (FPM).