An exhibit featuring over 100 works by one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso, opened at the Hungarian National Gallery here on Thursday.

The display includes paintings, sculptures, and drawings. Entitled Transfigurations, the exhibit is focused on Picasso's portrayals of the human figure.

The works are divided into seven phases of Picasso's art, ranging from his very earliest realist work including the blue and rose periods, through his deconstructivist, crystal and cubist periods, his surrealism, his depiction of the horrors of war, and finally, his Neo-Expressionist works that shocked the public as much as his earlier work.

The exhibit is part of the Budapest Spring Festival and most of the artwork belongs to the Musee National Picasso in Paris.

At the opening, Secretary of State in charge of cultural affairs in Hungary, Peter Hoppal, said this was the first major Picasso exhibit in Budapest since 1993. He called Picasso the most influential painter of the 20th century whose experimental nature always kept him a step ahead of his contemporaries.

Musee National Picasso director Laurent Le Bon said that the exhibit was a cultural adventure that took 18 months of joint effort to put together.

While the lion's share of the exhibit comes from Musee National Picasso, selected masterpieces were borrowed from the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Beyeler Foundation of Riehen, near Basel, the Bern Museum of Fine Arts, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow and the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. In addition, several pieces are owned by Budapest's Ludwig Museum and a series of etchings come from the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts.

The exhibit will be open until July 31.

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