As a young man, Pablo Picasso lived in Barcelona, where he attended the renowned art institution La Llotja, where his father taught. The Picasso Museum mostly displays Picasso's early career, but it also features a number of pieces from his mature period. The museum dedicated to the life and work of the painter and sculpture displays his collection of works in a manner that follows the artist's own chronology. The many stages are broken down, and the transitions in style are made clear.
The Picasso Museum in the Ribera neighbourhood of the Old City was inaugurated in April 1963. It was due to the generosity of Jaime Sabatés, Picasso's former secretary and a close friend, that the museum was able to open its doors to the public in Barcelona. The 15th-century municipal palace of Palacio de Berenguer d'Aguilar now serves as a museum for this purpose. There are almost 4,200 of the artist's pieces in the museum's permanent collection. The Picasso Museum mostly features paintings created by Picasso between 1895 and 1904. The assortment expands throughout later eras of artistic production. Picasso gave the museum all 58 paintings from his series Las Meninas (1957), in which he reimagined Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas, to honour his friend Sabatés. The Picasso Museum is home to a curated collection of artwork that were culled from other city museums. In 1982, Picasso's wife Jaqueline donated 41 ceramic pieces to the museum. To accommodate the growing number of artefacts, the museum expanded into the neighbouring homes.
Suggested Read: Top Things to Do in Barcelona
• Learn more about the life and career of Pablo Picasso, one of the world's most renowned artists, by visiting the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.
• Examine Picasso's early works like Science and Charity, Royan, and Las Meninas, a copy of Velazquez's painting, and you'll see his talent and inventiveness at its finest.
• Wander through the museums and galleries and be awed by the 4,251 works of art by Picasso.
• Visit Picasso's last haunts in Barcelona with the help of a knowledgeable guide who will fill you in on the artist's lifelong connection to the city.
Mornings, specifically between 10 and 11 a.m., are the least busy. If you can, try to arrive just at the crack of dawn, as this will greatly lessen the likelihood that you will have to wait in line. If you're running late, your best bet is to show up between 11:00 and 15:00, when the lines are at their longest. On certain "open door" days, admission is free; check the schedule for details.
Here are some tips that every tourist should keep in mind while visiting the Picasso Museum:
Rules and Regulations:
The museum's first home was the Palau Aguilar on Montcada 15. James Ses sources, a major figure in Barcelona's history, perhaps lived in the home where this structure now stands.
The original structure was constructed in the 13th century, but during the 15th and 18th centuries it received extensive renovations. The structure changed hands between a number of nobility at the Court of Aragon in the late 13th and early 14th centuries.
Originally owned by the affluent Corominas-Desplà family, who sold it to Berenguer Aguilar (for whom the palace is named) in 1386, the building was renamed Berenguer Aguilar Palace.
You may find a palace from the Middle Ages at Palau Baró de Castellet (Montcada, 17). The Gerona family lived there in the 15th century after purchasing the 13th-century structure. After a renovation in the 18th century, it changed hands several times between wealthy Barcelona families. The current palace was named after its previous owner, Mariano Alegre Aparici Amat, who was bestowed the title of Baron Castle by King Charles IV in 1797.
The Palau Meca (Montcada, 19) was constructed between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and afterwards restored in the eighteenth century. It has a courtyard in the middle, like the other palaces. The main floor's unusual 19th-century ceilings and the polychrome coffered ceilings from the Middle Ages are highlights. James Knight, the Minister of the City Council in 1349, was the original owner of the land. When his grandson Ramon Desplà Knight bought it, it grew to be the grandest mansion in the area.
Some of the buildings in Casa Mauri (Montcada, 21) date back to the Roman era, when the area was already home to the suburbs of Barcino. The distinctive wooden facade stands out as one of the rare surviving instances of a classic 18th-century locking mechanism in Barcelona. The Rocha family controlled the structure between 1378 and 1516, and F. Casamada took the title in 1716. In the nineteenth century, a number of alterations were done.
Built on top of a structure from the 13th century and situated on what was formerly a Roman cemetery, the Palau Finestres may be found at Montcada, 23. The Marimon family owned the land from 1363 to 1516. Jose Vidal Torres, owner of Casa Mauri, purchased the structure in 1872 with the intent of incorporating it within his estate. This structure was purchased by the city in 1970. Renovations in the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries introduced the ground-level arcades. Displays are now being held at the building.
On February 17, a new structure by architect Jordi Garcés called the Knowledge and Research Center debuted in Plaza Sabartés. Our hope is that this site will serve as a focal point for scholars around the world interested in Picasso and his work. The venue's director, Pepe Sierra, said that visitors shouldn't think of it as a location to watch movies or listen to music, but rather as a place to engage in meaningful conversation and debate.
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