The Museu Picasso in Barcelona celebrates its 60th anniversary of its inauguration in 1963, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the death of the Malaga-born artist.
With record numbers of visitors, the museum has become the centre of reference for knowledge of Pablo Picasso’s formative years, revealing his close and inseparable link with the Catalan capital.
The museum received almost 70,000 visitors in February, 87% more than in the same month of the previous year, making it the most visited February in the museum’s history.
The Spanish public accounted for 34% of the total number of visitors, followed by the Americans, French and Italians.
To commemorate this double anniversary, the museum has launched an initiative called “Parlem Picasso”.
With it, it seeks to arouse curiosity about Picasso’s presence and links with Barcelona through dialogue with the public, as well as to programme family and educational activities.
The Museu Picasso in Barcelona
The museum has a permanent collection of 4,251 works that reveal the genius of the young artist and his bond with Barcelona, forged in his adolescence and youth, which lasted until his death.
The collection is very extensive in terms of work from the artist’s formative years, including virtually exhaustive works up to the blue period.
In addition, the museum holds an important representation of works from 1917, a complete collection of engravings, as well as the series Las Meninas (1957).
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death also includes an international programme called “Picasso Celebration 1973-2023”.
The programme will advance around fifty exhibitions and events in cultural institutions in Europe and the United States.
These events will carry out a historiographical analysis of his work and take stock of research and interpretations of his oeuvre.
The international symposium to be held in autumn 2023 will coincide with the opening of the Centre d’Études Picasso in Paris.
The Museu Picasso in Barcelona has been and remains a place of pilgrimage for art and culture lovers.
The museum has managed to keep Picasso’s legacy alive, not only in Barcelona but also internationally, thanks to its permanent collection and the activities it organises to bring art closer to the public.
A celebration to commemorate history
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death is a good setting to remember the artist and his legacy that will remain forever.
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Malaga in 1881. The “yellow picador” was his first painting, which he painted at the age of eight.
As he grew up, he only showed astonishing talent and genius. Picasso’s style has no specific tendency. His most famous works belong to the blue period, cubism, proto-cubism, to give a few examples.
