Pablo Picasso was a man of many talents. Indeed, he was a world-renowned painter, but he also was an equally skilled sculptor, printmaker, ceramics artist, etching artist, and writer.
Picasso, who was born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881, died in Mougins, France, on April 8, 1973, at the age of 91.
To mark the 50th anniversary of his death, the Musée National Picasso-Paris, or the Picasso-Paris National Museum, has announced it will present a new exhibit, Picasso Celebration: The Collection In A New Light, from March 7–August 27, 2023.
What’s more, the museum has invited “British designer Sir Paul Smith, known for his work with color, tailoring, and unexpected details, to lead the artistic direction,” it explains.
“This exhibition, created in collaboration with Sir Paul Smith, is curated around masterpieces from the collection,” Musée National Picasso-Paris explains. “The designer’s unique approach to the works invites the public to view them through a contemporary lens and underlines the continuing relevance of Picasso’s work in today’s world. The visions of these two artists sometimes converge, for example around their shared love of objects, dress, and playfulness, thus leading to comparisons and a spectacular, highly inventive approach to the presentation of the works.”
Notably, the exhibition will also include work by contemporary artists Guillermo Kuitca, Obi Okigbo, Mickalene Thomas, and Chéri Samba. Each of those artists will put their own “slant on some of Picasso’s artistic innovations.”
A True Innovator
Picasso attended art schools in Spain, and that’s where he “aligned his sensibilities with bohemian writers and artists in Barcelona and Madrid who opposed Spain’s stalled social hierarchies and conservative culture,” the National Gallery of Art explains. “After early work inspired by international models — the anguished, attenuated figures of El Greco; the dark, moody outlines of symbolism; and the sinuous curvatures of Art nouveau to name a few — Picasso began to find his own vision.”
Picasso is, perhaps, best known for his Cubism work. After all, he and French artist Georges Braque co-founded the art movement itself in 1909.
However, Picasso was also an innovator and pioneered work in other styles as well. For example, other pieces of his work are known as seminal works of Classicism and the Surreal movements.
Picasso was also known for his prodigious output. Indeed, in his lifetime, Picasso produced about 147,800 pieces. Of that work, 13,500 are paintings, 100,000 are prints and engravings, 300 are sculptures and ceramics, and 34,000 are illustrations.
You may be familiar with The Old Guitarist. That notable piece was from Picasso’s so-called “blue period,” when he only used shades of blue to explore themes of poverty and suffering.
And then there’s Guernica, which could very well be Picasso’s best-known work. The disturbing painting — in muted shades of gray — depicts an aerial bombing on the Basque town of Guernica in April 1937, during the Spanish Civil War.
An Impressive Collection — And Home
The Musée National Picasso-Paris is housed in Hôtel Salé, a historic mansion built in Paris in 1660. Interestingly, the building has belonged to the City of Paris since 1962 and was classified as a Historic Monument in 1968.
The museum’s Picasso collection is even more impressive, given its sheer size. The collection was actually created from two donations made by his family, first in 1979. That donation included Picasso’s personal collection, in accordance with his wishes. The second donation was made by the heirs of his wife, Jacqueline Picasso, in 1990.
All told, the Musée Picasso-Paris collection is made up of more than 5,000 works and tens of thousands of archived pieces. It includes 297 paintings, more than 1,700 drawings and notebooks, 368 sculptures and 3D works, 92 books illustrated by Picasso, and more than 2,370 engravings and posters.
Chief among the paintings are Self-portrait, The Kiss, Large Nudes, Matadors, Musicians, Young Ladies in Avignon, Man with Guitar, and Man with Mandolin.
Nearly all of Picasso’s sculptures are also part of the collection. Notably, the collection includes the Woman in the Garden, the Bull’s Head, the Man with Sheep, as well as Picasso’s steel cut-outs produced in the 1960s.
Tickets for Picasso Celebration: The Collection In A New Light, which will run from March 7–August 27, will be 14 euros, or about $15.
You can learn more about the museum’s ticket prices and passes at Picasso-Paris National Museum’s Rates and Members page.
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