Museu Picasso
The setting for this must-see museum is special in itself. It was created by stringing together five Gothic mansions in a series of seamless galleries.
The exhibits are based on the collection of Jaume Sabartés, a childhood friend who became Picasso’s personal secretary in 1935. Among some 4,000 works, early pictures created when Picasso was an art student in Barcelona dominate, giving an insight into his formative years. He lived in the city between 1895 and 1904 and returned regularly after settling in Paris.
Sabartés is honored in room 8 with portraits from the Blue Period, painted in 1901, and in ruff and cap from 1939. Picasso and his wife Jacqueline also donated generously to the museum. She contributed a collection of playful ceramic pieces in the 1980s, while the artist’s most significant donation is the entire Las Meninas series, painted in the summer of 1957. In a cycle of 45 paintings, he endlessly reworks and reinterprets the elements of Velázquez’s masterpiece. It is both the highlight and the finale, so it’s worth pacing yourself.
The collection is not encyclopaedic, and Picasso’s most famous masterpieces are elsewhere, but its scope is nonetheless impressive.
The museum also hosts a series of temporary exhibitions related to Picasso’s life and work to help complete the picture. Tip: If you’re on a tight budget, it’s worth exploring the museum’s free evening program on Thursdays. Reservations are required, available the previous Monday from 10am.
The setting for this must-see museum is special in itself. It was created by stringing together five Gothic mansions in a series of seamless galleries.
The exhibits are based on the collection of Jaume Sabartés, a childhood friend who became Picasso’s personal secretary in 1935. Among some 4,000 works, early pictures created when Picasso was an art student in Barcelona dominate, giving an insight into his formative years. He lived in the city between 1895 and 1904 and returned regularly after settling in Paris.
Sabartés is honored in room 8 with portraits from the Blue Period, painted in 1901, and in ruff and cap from 1939. Picasso and his wife Jacqueline also donated generously to the museum. She contributed a collection of playful ceramic pieces in the 1980s, while the artist’s most significant donation is the entire Las Meninas series, painted in the summer of 1957. In a cycle of 45 paintings, he endlessly reworks and reinterprets the elements of Velázquez’s masterpiece. It is both the highlight and the finale, so it’s worth pacing yourself.
The collection is not encyclopaedic, and Picasso’s most famous masterpieces are elsewhere, but its scope is nonetheless impressive.
The museum also hosts a series of temporary exhibitions related to Picasso’s life and work to help complete the picture. Tip: If you’re on a tight budget, it’s worth exploring the museum’s free evening program on Thursdays. Reservations are required, available the previous Monday from 10am.
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