The Picasso Museum is housed in a historic building on Carrer Montcada, the famous street where the richest Catalan families lived in the 9th century. It is one of the most important world collections of the artist, which focuses on his youth and his artistic training. You will admire, among others, “Harlequin”, “Margot” and “El Loco”.
The Picasso Museum presents more than 3,500 works of art by Pablo Ruiz Picasso: paintings, drawings, sculptures and ceramics, from his earliest childhood sketches to some of his most important Cubist masterpieces. Learn more about the life of Picasso and his artistic evolution. The museum will be of interest to both children and art lovers, especially because of the colorful works of the artist and sketches from early childhood.
Picasso was born in southern Spain, moving to Barcelona with his family when he was young. This influential artist studied and maintained a close relationship with his adoptive city until his death in 1973. Picasso and his private secretary and great friend Jaume Sabartes favored the creation of the first museum dedicated to the work of this artist in Barcelona .
The Picasso Museum’s collection is divided into five Gothic-style palaces in the lively Old Town district. Some of these buildings date back to the 13th century and are interconnected. The permanent collection is presented in chronological order: the room near the museum entrance exhibits photographs, drawings and sketches by the still child artist. You will also find his biography here. Then you will follow him to Paris in 1900 and 1901, in his blue period that lasted until 1904. The four rooms are occupied by Las Meninas, a series of 58 paintings painted in 1957, which takes up the famous painting of the same name by Diego Velázquez. . Picasso donated this series of paintings to the museum in memory of his friend and poet Jaume Sabartés.
Other important works are also unavoidable, such as Portrait of the Artist’s Father (1896), First Communion (1896) and The Embrace (1900).
Of course, you can’t see all the works at once, because the Picasso Museum can only present three to four hundred works at a time. But that’s enough! If you like to take your time, count two hours to visit all four levels. But you can also offer your young children a beautiful one-hour cultural walk.
The museum’s gift shop offers various picture books and postcards.
The museum is closed on Mondays. Admission is free from 3pm on Sundays and all day on the first Sunday of the month. Get yourself, for a few euros, an audio guide that comments on the main works on display. On Sundays, guided tours are offered in Catalan, Spanish and English. Three metro stations are located near the museum.
For those who come to Barcelona mainly for culture, the Picasso Museum is a must-see both for the Gothic architecture of the place and for its impressive collection that will make you (re)discover the talent of an outstanding artist.
