The Picasso Museum
Barcelona is a city with an abundance of culture, where the different neighborhoods are like an exhibition of outdoor history and the arts are a living and breathing display which can be enjoyed to the full in every attraction or museum in the city.
Right in the heart of El Born, at Carrer Montcada 15-23, the famous Picasso Museum can be found, a location that every tourist who comes to the city for the first time should visit.
What you will see in the Museum
The Picasso Museum is the ideal place in which to learn about Pablo Picasso's formative years. The genius of the young artist can be seen in the display of some 4,251 works which make up the permanent collection. Opened in 1963, the Picasso Museum exhibits an extensive collection of the artist's life work, especially from the time of his youth. The Museum also houses an important representation of the works dating from 1917 and the suite of paintings known as "Las Meninas" which constitutes a series of 58 paintings as well as a complete set of videos.
The rooms in the Museum
The rooms in the Museum are divided into different periods of the artist's youth. The first items that can be seen are from the artist's academic period, in which the teenage Picasso was experimenting with light and shade. The next part of the Musuem houses the artist's "Blue Period" and the paintings that were inspired by the works of Velázquez. And the last part of the Museum puts on show the modernist influences and the artist's greater maturity which is evidenced by the "Pink Period." The Pigeon Room is absolutely unmissable and this was painted by Picasso from his terrace in California.
History and interesting information about the Museum
The relationship between the artist and the city of Barcelona was a strong one. His family moved to the capital of Catalonia in 1895 and this was where the young man's artistic studies took place. Two years later, the famous cafe, Els Quatre Gats opened and still houses the menu that was designed for them by Picasso himself. In 1900, he was sharing a studio with his friend Carles Casagemas, whose death marked the saddest period of the artist's works and this is reflected in his paintings from that time. Despite moving to Paris in 1904, Picasso returned frequently to Barcelona, so much so, that he donated the majority of his works to the current Museum which was originally called the Sabartès Museum,which was the name of an ideologist and great friend of Picasso's.
Opening Times and Prices
The Picasso Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 09:00 to 19:00. On Thursdays, it is open from 09:00 to 21:30 and on Mondays, the Museum is closed. The entry fee changes depending on the temporary exhibitions that you may wish to visit. It is also possible to purchase tickets separately for forthcoming temporary exhibitions at the Museum.
My comments