The Picasso Museum occupies some five historic palaces in a scenic part of Barcelona where you’ll also find such other popular attractions as the Museu Europeu d’Art Modern, the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar, and the Barcelona Moco Museum. Within this striking space are housed roughly 5,000 pieces created by Pablo Picasso, primarily works fashioned during his formative years as a young artist. While you won’t find his most famous material here, visitors will encounter a fascinating array of paintings, sculptures, drawings, sketches, and more.
History of the Picasso Museum
Today, Pablo Picasso is deemed by many to have been one of the twentieth century’s most influential artists. Born in Málaga in 1881, Picasso moved to Barcelona in 1895, and though the time he spent living in the city was relatively brief—he moved away for good in 1904—its impact on his development as an artist was powerful. Picasso would return to Barcelona time and time again throughout the rest of his life. Unsurprisingly, given the nature of this bond, it was here that Picasso—in collaboration with his close friend and collaborator, Jaime Sabartés—decided to found the first museum devoted exclusively to his work. It would be the sole such facility established while Picasso was still alive.
An agreement to found the museum was reached between Sabartés and the city of Barcelona in 1960; the museum itself would open its doors to the public in 1963. In its early years, the basis of the Picasso Museum’s permanent collection came from over 500 works donated to the institution by Sabartés and approximately 1,000 pieces donated by Picasso himself. After Picasso’s death in 1973, his widow Jacqueline Roque would donate even more works to the institution.
Picasso Museum Highlights
The Picasso Museum is home to approximately 5,000 works, with the vast majority of the museum’s permanent collection comprised of pieces created during the early years of the artist’s long career—more or less between the years 1890 and 1917. By far the most important late works held by the Picasso Museum are those pieces that make up his 1957 series Las Meninas, a suite of paintings that saw Picasso putting his own spin on the great Diego Velázquez’s legendary 1656 painting of the same name (which hangs in the Prado).
While everyone’s artistic tastes are different, especially when it comes to appraising an artist that had as lengthy and varied a career as Picasso, most would consider the Picasso Museum’s highlights to include such works as First Communion, an evocative religious scene considered to be the first “large-scale” work Picasso ever painted; The Artist’s Mother, a vivid portrait Picasso created of his mother when he was only 15 years old; and The Offering, a 1908 piece that stands alongside the more-famous Les Demoiselles d’Avignon as an example of Picasso’s groundbreaking style
In addition to its permanent collection of artworks, the Picasso Museum routinely stages special temporary exhibitions. By their very nature, these shows change out frequently and always cover different subject material. Having said that, for context, recent temporary exhibitions staged at the Picasso Museum include Miró-Picasso, a collaborative show jointly organized by the Picasso Museum and the Fundació Joan Miró (Joan Miró Museum); Bernard Plossu: Catalan Landscapes of Picasso, which showcased the French photographer’s work chronicling the regional spaces that meant so much to Picasso’s early career; and The Souvenir of Lost Battles, an exhibit devoted to the mixed-media creations of the artist Hélène Delprat.
More to See and Do at the Picasso Museum
Whether or not you number Pablo Picasso among your favorite artists, a visit to the Picasso Museum can make for a rich and rewarding experience. Those visitors wishing to get even more out of their time here will want to keep in mind the following things.
*There are three different kinds of audio guides available at the Picasso Museum. A collection-spanning audio guide draws the visitor’s attention to some 50 of the museum’s most notable works, while a condensed 30-minute version zeroes in on a dozen standout pieces; both of these audio guides are available in Catalan, Spanish, French, English, Italian, German, Russian, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese. An audio designed specifically for children is also available in Catalan, Spanish, English, and French.
*For a small additional fee, guided tours of the Picasso Museum are available at select times on Tuesdays and Sundays. For more information, check out the Picasso Museum’s official website.
*The Picasso Museum has an on-site gift shop that sells an assortment of art books, prints, and accessories, as well as all manner of museum-branded souvenirs.
*If you’re looking to get the most out of your Barcelona budget, be advised that the Picasso Museum offers free admission on occasion, namely on the first Sunday of every month, as well as on Thursdays after 4:00pm (between the months of May and September this policy applies only to post-5:00pm hours).
*Those individuals counting themselves as big fans of Picasso might be interested to know that there are guided Life of Picasso Walking Tours available. These experiences often combine an hour-long walking tour (one that showcases the Barcelona sights and sounds that shaped the artist as a young man) with admission to the Picasso Museum itself. Many visitors choose to use a Barcelona tourist card to access this special experience.
Why the Picasso Museum Should Be on Your Must-See List
The Picasso Museum may not necessarily be home to the most famous artworks by Picasso—it’s more than likely that your particular favorite Picasso painting or sculpture is on display elsewhere, whether hanging in a different Spanish city or occupying a plaza somewhere in the world beyond. Still, a visit to this distinctive institution is an essential stop for anyone with a passion for modern art. No other museum in the world is as laser-focused on Picasso as the Picasso Museum; its eclectic holdings place a particular emphasis on the influential artist’s early formative years—thus enabling it to chart his artistic evolution in remarkable ways—making the Picasso Museum a must-see attraction for art lovers of all backgrounds.
