RABAT, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Mediterranean and Modern Art exhibition opened Tuesday in the Moroccan capital Rabat, offering the public a precious opportunity to rediscover the best of the Mediterranean art.
Held under the patronage of the Moroccan King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron, the inauguration ceremony was chaired by the king's sister Princess Lalla Hasnaa.
This major exhibition brings together eighty paintings, sculptures and photographs in nine sections, both chronological and thematic.
Entitled "Birth of the Modern Landscape (1900-1914)," the first section features masterpieces by Georges Braque, Andre Derain and Albert Marquet.
While the second section, under the name "Exoticism (1900-1930)," highlights the travels of various artists who perpetuated themselves in the the southern Mediterranean universe, notably the French artist Henri Matisse in Algeria, the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky in Tunisia, the Dutch Kees Van Dongen in Egypt and French Raoul Dufy in Morocco.
The third section, "Photographic Shores (1930-1945)," displays the works of several photographers, including Pierre Boucher, Andre Kertesz and Andre Steiner, whereas the fourth section under the theme "Ateliers du Midi (1920-1960)" celebrates the three great painters Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
The exhibition also features Barcelona-based works by artists such as Salvador Dali, Antoni Tapies and Joan Miro in the fifth section named "The Catalan Foyer (1920- 1970)," and gives the audience the opportunity to rediscover "The Avant-Garde Marseille Art Festival (1956)."
"This exhibition offers visitors an overview of twentieth-century art history in relation to the Mediterranean and Imagination," said the president of the National Foundation of Morocco's Museums (FNM) Mehdi Qotbi, whose foundation organizes it along with the Georges Pompidou Center.
