Major exhibitions in Europe this summer

(Tate Photography)

The biggest exhibitions in Europe this summer comprise a William Turner survey on view in Madrid after record attendance in Paris, the last days to catch Lucian Freud in Paris and Picasso in Liverpool.

Anish Kapoor retrospective
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
March 16-October 12
Bilbao, Spain

The exhibition previously seen in London surveys the career of Anish Kapoor, the 1991 Turner Prize-winner, to date and also showcases new and previously unseen works in Bilbao's Guggenheim. Simply called Anish Kapoor, the retrospective is the first major survey of the artist's works to be held in Spain.
http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es

Jean-Michel Basquiat retrospective
Fondation Beyeler
May 9 - September 5
Basel, Switzerland

The first major Swiss retrospective of American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988), icon of New York underground culture of the 1980s and Andy Warhol's friend and collaborator, is presented at the Beyeler Foundation in Basel in May, then in Paris in October with more than 100 works displayed in both locations.
http://www.beyeler.com

"Turner and the Masters"
Prado
Madrid, Spain
June 22 - September 19

Turner and the Masters presents a selection of paintings by JMW Turner (1775-1851) alongside related works by the old masters and contemporaries. Previously seen in London and Paris, Turner and the Masters brings together around one hundred works of historical significance from collections around the world it is the first exhibition to look at Turner's work in the company of the greatest painters in the preceding history of western art such as Poussin, Rembrandt, Rubens...
http://www.museodelprado.es

Edward Hopper exhibition
Lausanne, Switzerland
Fondation de l'Hermitage
June 25-October 24

America's best-known realist Edward Hopper (1882-1967) is given special attention in Lausanne with a collection of paintings essentially from the Whitney Museum (New York), and other major American museums to highlight the artist's creative approach, from his preliminary sketches to his finished works. Previously seen in Milan and Rome, this key retrospective in Switzerland spans Hopper's entire career, from his Paris trip between 1906 and 1910 to his "classical" period between the 1930s and 1950s, to conclude with works such as A Woman in the Sun (1961), where bright sunlight covers the scene, at the dusk of his career.
http://www.fondation-hermitage.ch

Last days

De Chirico, Ernst and Magritte
Until July 18
Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi
Florence, Italy

The exhibition De Chirico, Max Ernst, Magritte, Balthus: A look into the invisible explores the early metaphysical years of the career of De Chirico, until 1918, and the influence of his first works on later movements with paintings by Max Ernst, René Magritte, Balthus, Alberto Savinio displayed at Palazzo Strozzi.
http://www.palazzostrozzi.org

Lucian Freud retrospective
Until July 19
Centre Georges Pompidou
Paris, France

Acclaimed British painter Lucian Freud, and most expensive contemporary artist, is having his first major exhibition in Paris in over 20 years featuring 50 large paintings along with photographs and graphic works showing his London studio. The exhibit is organized around the theme of the artist's studio, a key theme in the artist's compositions. Aged 88, Freud's distinctiveness resides in his nude portraits and his depiction of the flesh, he even refers to his studio as "the painter's laboratory."
http://www.centrepompidou.fr

Italian Renaissance Drawings
Until July 25
British Museum
London, UK

With Fra Angelico to Leonardo: Italian Renaissance Drawings, the British Museum surveys 15th century Italy with 100 drawings by masters Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Jacopo and Gentile Bellini, Botticelli, Carpaccio, Filippo Lippi, Mantegna, Michelangelo, Verrocchio and Titian.
http://www.britishmuseum.org

Frida Kahlo retrospective
Until August 9
Martin Gropius Bau
Berlin, Germany

Martin-Gropius-Bau presents the most extensive exhibition of Frida Kahlo's oeuvre to date in Germany with over 120 paintings and drawings from the Mexican artist who marked the world of Latin American art, as well as international art, with her tragic and yet colorful way of depicting herself. In the first half of the 20th century she knew better than anyone else how to combine the enigmatic culture of her home country with her own traumatic experiences.
http://www.martin-gropius-bau.de

Yves Saint Laurent retrospective
Until August 29
Petit Palais
Paris, France

The eagerly awaited retrospective of late French designer Yves Saint Laurent is closing on August 29 in Paris. The public can discover 40 years of the work of the designer who changed the face of French and international fashion during the 20th century. The collection displays over 300 pieces that belonged to Saint Laurent like his drawings, personal objects, films, photographs and sketches.
http://www.yslretrospective.com

"Picasso: Peace and Freedom"
Until August 30
Tate Liverpool
Liverpool, UK

Presented at Tate Liverpool, Picasso: Peace and Freedom reveals new insight into the artist's life as a political activist and campaigner for peace with with 150 paintings and drawings from 1944-1973, during the post-War period.
http://www.tate.org.uk/liverpool