Picasso Museum in Barcelona – history, photo, description, ticket prices 2021, how to get there, map
Spain is the country where one of the most talented artists of all time was born. We are talking about Pablo Picasso, whose extraordinary work is known to every art lover. The Picasso Museum in Barcelona is the key to understanding the painting of the great master. The works presented in the collection introduce the gallery's guests to the deep and unshakable relationship between the genius and the capital of Catalonia, which began at an early age of Pablo and continued until his death.
Story
In 1917, Picasso completed his first large-scale painting, Harlequin, and presented it to Barcelona, the city that influenced the life and work of the author. This work laid the foundation for the expositions of the future museum, the idea of creating which belonged to Jaime Sebartes, a close friend and secretary of the eccentric artist. The philanthropist wanted to open a gallery in the birthplace of the brilliant author – in Malaga. However, this was opposed by Picasso, who considered the southern capital of Spain the place where his creative path began.
The personal collection of Sebartes, consisting of 574 works, was exhibited within the walls of the gallery, which opened in March 1963. Later, its fund was supplemented by connoisseurs of the work of the founder of cubism. So, Salvador Dali donated a book of illustrations to Ovid's Metamorphoses. Picasso himself did not remain indifferent to the expositions. In 1970, two years after Sebartes' death, he donated school books, early drafts, and over 900 of his famous works, including the “Las Meninas” series.
In 1982, the master's widow, Jacqueline, donated to the museum a collection of ceramics, consisting of 41 items. A generous gift in the form of 117 prints was made by the Paris art gallery Louise Leiris. The last reconstruction of the exhibition premises was completed in 2003. Six years later, the Picasso Museum was recognized as one of the forty most famous and most visited art galleries in the world.
A little about the artist
On October 25, 1881, a boy was born in the family of an art historian and drawing teacher from Spanish Malaga, Jose Ruiz, who was destined to become the founder of avant-garde art. The first word of the future painter is “pencil”, the same subject the kid learned to hold in his hands earlier than others. The talent showed up very early. The picture “Picador” Pablo painted in oil at the age of nine, and six years later, the academic canvas “First Communion” came out from under his brush.
At the age of thirteen, the future Catalan virtuoso of painting passed the entrance exams to the Barcelona School of Fine Arts without any problems, from where he transferred three years later to the Royal Academy of Arts of Madrid. After completing his studies, in 1904 he moved to Paris. From this moment, the creative fate of Picasso is divided into several stages:
All his life the artist was surrounded by beautiful women, but he was married twice. The first wife was in 1918 the dancer of the Dyagelevsky ballet troupe Olga Khokhlova. The second time the painter tied the knot in 1961. His chosen one, 27-year-old Jacqueline Rock, remained with Pablo until his death. The heart of an extravagant genius stopped on April 8, 1973. According to the New York Museum of Modern Art, the Catalan brush master left behind more than 20 thousand works.
Museum buildings
The museum is located in the heart of the El Born district bordering the Gothic Quarter, on Carrer Montcada, one of the oldest streets in Barcelona, whose origins date back to the 12th century. Initially, the exposition occupied the premises of the Berenguer d'Aguilar Palace. The new exhibits required the expansion of the square, and the nearby Gothic mansions joined the Palau aguilar. Decorated with cozy patios, open staircases and arches, they are sights in their own right.
Palace Berenguer d'Aguilar
The mansion, the beginning of construction of which dates back to the 13th century, became the first and main building of the gallery. The building, which belonged at different times to the wealthy residents of the capital of Catalonia, was reconstructed more than once in the period from the 15th to the 18th centuries, as a result of which features of the Renaissance and Gothic architectural styles can be traced in its appearance.
In the middle of the last century, the city council of Barcelona bought the house from the heirs of Berenguer Aguilar and carried out large-scale restorations in it, during which a fresco from the beginning of the 13th century was found on one of the walls.
Palace of the Baron Castellet
Until the 18th century, each owner, having received the property of a magnificent mansion of the 13th century, considered it his duty to introduce something new into its architecture. Thanks to this, an elegant building appears today to the eyes of tourists, the main feature of which is the living room decorating the first floor, decorated with neoclassical marble elements. The building has been owned by the state since the middle of the 20th century.
palace mecca
Information about the date of construction of Palau Meca has not been preserved in the archives. It is assumed that the mansion was erected in the XIV century and belonged to the city councilor James Knight. In the 16th century, the Mecca family bought the house. The new owners partially rebuilt the palace, adding elements of the Baroque style, which can be seen in the wrought iron staircases and decoration of the balcony balustrades.
Palace Finestres
The mansion, built in the 13th century on the remains of a Roman necropolis, welcomes its guests with baroque arches. Passing through them, visitors enter the central part of the palace – the main entrance. Like previous buildings, Palau Finestres has been rebuilt many times, miraculously retaining the decoration of the medieval courtyard. Temporary exhibitions are now held in the spacious halls.
Dom Mauri
The palace saw the light in the 18th century, although its foundation was laid back in the era of Ancient Rome. The façade is adorned with a wooden lattice window, the only one preserved in Barcelona. The name of the building was given by the confectionery “Mauri”, located within the walls of an old mansion in the 40s of the last century. Casa Mauri joined the group of “museum houses” in 1999.
Collection
The Montcada Museum houses the largest Picasso collection in Spain, with 4,249 items, including paintings, pencil sketches, sketches, lithographs, ceramics, engravings, etchings, sculptures, archival documents and photographs of the genius. You will need at least three hours to go around all the halls.
In order to help visitors follow the process of the artist's formation, the emergence and development of his unique style, the staff placed the exhibits in strict chronological order. First, the sightseers get acquainted with the pen samples of the young fourteen-year-old master and his first creations, then the masterpieces of later periods appear to their attention. The most famous paintings kept in the museum are:
In total, the halls present 15 expositions containing works created in the period from 1895 to 1957. Most of the paintings belong to the early stage of the painter's work. With annual temporary exhibitions dedicated to themes related to the works of Picasso and other famous authors, a visit to the gallery never gets boring.
The highlight of the collection is “Las Meninas”
The pride of the museum is the Las Meninas series. Working on it, Picasso paid tribute to the artist Diego Velázquez, who in 1656 created a painting that depicts the daughter of the King of Spain, Infanta Margherita, surrounded by servants, ladies-in-waiting and two dwarfs. Among the characters are the royal couple and the author himself in the form of a court painter.
Picsasso's Menin interpretation appeared in 1957, three centuries after the original was published. Retiring for four months in Cannes, the avant-garde artist wrote several variations of the great work, adding to each canvas something new, purely personal. He played with colors and shapes, breaking the plot into parts and putting it back together from small fragments. Sometimes the author removed some characters and replaced them with new ones, sometimes with only a passing resemblance to the original characters. So, in one of the paintings, instead of the king and queen, we see the creator's wife, Jacqueline.
The collection dedicated to Velazquez's masterpiece is housed in rooms 12-15 of the gallery. It includes 44 interpretations of “Menin”, several landscapes and nine brightly optimistic compositions with doves created in the style of a children's drawing.
Opening hours and ticket prices
The gallery is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 19:00, on Thursday from 9:00 to 21:30. On December 24 and 31, the museum closes at 17:00. Days off: Monday (weekly), 01.01, 01.05, 24.06 and 25.12.
The possibility of free entry (the number of visitors is limited) is provided:
Regular rates:
Young people aged 18 to 25 and pensioners over 65 are eligible to purchase discounted entrance tickets (collection € 7 and temporary exhibitions € 4.50). A multimedia audio guide containing information about the exhibits of the main collection in Russian costs 5 euros.
Children under the age of 17 (accompanied by adults), accredited journalists, members of the International Council of Museums and professional guides enter free of charge, subject to the provision of an appropriate certificate. For art lovers, there is a great offer: with a €30 Articket BCN card, you get free entry to the six largest museums in Barcelona.
There are always long queues at the gallery box office, try to arrive early or buy tickets online on the official website www.museupicasso.bcn.cat.
Where is it located and how to get there
The gallery is located in the central part of the southern capital of Spain at the address: Carrer Montcada 15-23, 08003 Barcelona. You can get to it as follows:
-
By metro: line 1 (red) to Arc de Triomf and line 4 (yellow) to Jaume I.
-
By bus:
-
By car: GPS coordinates: 385094° N, 2.180794° E. The nearest car parks are in Avinguda Cambó, Carrer Princesa and Via Laietana.
Useful information for visitors
Important! Many works of the ingenious Spaniard can cause bewilderment among beginners in art. If you are unfamiliar with the works of the avant-garde artist, you should read in advance about his life, the stages of his work and look through albums with reproductions of paintings.