The Masaveu Collection is not merely a compilation of artworks; it is a testimony to the aesthetic evolution of a century that unfolds between the private and the collective, the personal and the historical. Over nearly a century, the Masaveu family has created a visual legacy that, through its continuous growth, has transcended its origins as a personal hobby to become one of the most important collections of contemporary Spanish art.
From the earliest days of its formation, the Masaveu Collection has been characterized by a unique commitment to Spanish art. The exhibition “Masaveu Collection. 20th Century Spanish Art. From Picasso to Barceló”, curated by María Dolores Jiménez-Blanco, invites us on a visual journey that challenges chronological conventions. Instead of a rigid timeline, the exhibit is organized into blocks that reveal the affinities and personal choices of those who have shaped this collection, creating a fragmented but deeply meaningful narrative.
In the one hundred works on display, the exhibition offers a panoramic view of the 20th century, a century marked by visual revolutions, disruptive movements, and moments of introspection. From the avant-gardes of Picasso, Dalí, and Miró to the abstraction of Informalism and the visual poetry of Barceló, each piece embodies not only an aesthetic but also a unique way of understanding art as a dialogue between the past and present, between the individual and the collective.
What is fascinating about the Masaveu Collection is that, beyond its historical wealth, it reflects a profoundly human and contemporary perspective—a continuous effort to understand art in a state of constant renewal. The decision to open the collection to the public in 1980 and the donation of part of it to the Museo de Bellas Artes de Asturias in 1994 marked a turning point in its history, bringing the family’s legacy into a shared space where art becomes a collective experience.
The Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson, which has housed and exhibited the collection since 2019, has become a living, constantly evolving space that expands and updates this legacy with new acquisitions that follow the pulse of the original collectors’ concerns. The exhibition offers not only a history of art but also an emotional and reflective journey about the very act of collecting, which is, ultimately, an act of sharing and building community.
As one walks through the rooms of the Fundación, the echoes of the voices that brought these works to life can be felt—testifying to a continuous process that seeks not to be definitive, but open and fluid. Like art itself, the Masaveu Collection is a testimony that the act of collecting is not merely an effort to preserve, but also a commitment to look toward the future without losing sight of the best of the past.
Masaveu Collection. 20th Century Spanish Art. From Picasso to Barceló
Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson
Madrid, Spain
October 9, 2024 – July 20, 2025
Free entry with time slot reservation.
Images courtesy of: © Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson. Photos: Marcos Morilla