RIEHEN, SWITZERLAND.- Fondation Beyeler presents Pablo Picasso et le surréalisme 1924-39 (Pablo Picasso and surrealism 1924-39), on view through September 11, 2005. The internal dynamics of Picasso's creation is given through paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and manuscripts. His "surrealism" shows a personal and moving aspect of the artist's as well as his political commitment through an ensemble of key works.

Beyeler Foundation examines Picasso's "Period of Metamorphosis," a phase that was one of the most personal, powerful and creative of his career. It draws principally on the stocks of the Museé Picasso in Paris and the Foundation's own treasures. Even though Picasso produced work in a style similar to the Surrealists during this period, he remained separate from the movement, creating improvisatory images and techniques that were ambiguous and suggestive rather than figurative.

Picasso appreciated the contemporary developments in Surrealist painting, particularly the work of André Masson and Joan Miró, reflected in the curved, organic shapes and saturated hues of Mandolin and Guitar (1924). The rolling lines, decorative patterns and broad chromatic elements contained in the work at this time anticipate the emergence of a fully evolved sensual, biomorphic style in his art, celebrating the arrival of his new muse (and mistress) Marie-Thérèse Walter.