PICASSO MUSEUM Collection

2:43

Your visit to the Picasso Museum begins with the artist's first works dating back to his early adolescence in Malaga and La Coruña, and with works he made in Barcelona between the age of 14 and 16. In the first two halls you'll find three small portraits of his father, one of his mother, and a series of fun self-portraits. The skilled Portrait of Aunt Pepa shows his capacity for profound psychological investigation and use of light; here you can recognize the influence of the great Spanish tradition, especially of seventeenth-century painting.

In the third room you come across Science and Charity, painted when he was 15 years old. The canvas demonstrates a Picasso who was perfectly at ease in the genre of social realism that was popular in the second half of the 19th century: the composition is classic and the observer's gaze focuses on the sick figure in the center.

In the fourth room you can admire the beautiful landscapes of Barcelona that he painted at 18 and 19 years of age, including Carrer de la Riera de Sant Joan, which was the alley where the artist had his own studio. Then you'll find a series of works that date back to the following two years, when the young Pablo was in Paris living the life of a Bohemian. In rooms 5, 6, and 7 you'll find some prints Picasso worked on as an adult.

Your chronological itinerary takes back up in room 8, with an overview of his so-called "blue period", which was dominated by the artist's bitterness in relation to a close friend's suicide. Already in the next room you'll find more joyful canvases, where the orange and pink colors of the following period prevail. The 10th and 11th rooms finish off this chronological path with important examples of Picasso's cubism starting from 1917.

In the last four rooms you'll see the important cycle of paintings and studies created in 1957 and dedicated to the reinterpretation of Velázquez's 17th-century masterpiece entitled Las Meninas, which I will discuss in the next file. In these rooms you can also enjoy the nine canvases called Pichones/Pigeons which Picasso painted in his home in Cannes in September of the same year. Your tour through the museum will finish off wonderfully with 36 pieces made with ceramics and three paintings dating back to Picasso's last years.

 

FUN FACT: when asked about his precociously developed talents, of which this museum is a fascinating demonstration, Picasso once declared: "At 12 years I knew how to draw like Raphael, but it took me all my life to learn to paint like a child!".

TravelMate consiglia
Scegli l'opzione
che fa al caso tuo
Buy Barcelona
Permanently unlock the app with all content of Barcelona for
€ 8,99
Buy
Promotion
Unlock audio content of all available cities for 3 years at the promotional price
€ 19,99
Buy
Da non perdere
BARCELONA INTRODUCTION
1 Audio

BARCELONA INTRODUCTION

In Roman times, Barcelona was already a political and cultural center of considerable importance in the Mediterranean area, at least until 1300, but it was not until the last two centuries that this...
THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE
1 Audio

THE WONDERS OF LOCAL CUISINE

A must-have snack or starter is jamon, or ham. The finest quality variety is jamon serrano, from pigs fed with a particular kind of acorns.Barcelona has a Mediterranean cuisine, featuring many...
SAGRADA FAMILIA
4 Audio

SAGRADA FAMILIA

The architect began to work on the church starting in 1883, transforming it into a perpetual construction site and proposing incredibly exceptional architectural and decorative solutions. And it is...
RAMBLA
4 Audio

RAMBLA

Celebrated in many novels, works of art, and big and small screen movies, the Rambla fully sums up the spirit of this lively town, and taking a walk along this avenue that runs about one kilometer to...
CASA BATLLÓ
1 Audio

CASA BATLLÓ

Your visit starts in the atrium, which Gaudí conceived as an underwater cavity, lit by skylights that resemble turtle shells. From here you go to the glittering inner courtyard: despite the...
CATHEDRAL
6 Audio

CATHEDRAL

You're now at the highest point of the Gothic Quarter in an area full of archaeological remains; in fact a church had already stood here before the Christian era, but it was destroyed just before the...
PEDRERA
2 Audio

PEDRERA

Among other modernist - style residences, Pedrera takes the place of honor at the center of the so-called "Quadrat d'Or", which is the most elegant area of Barcelona with its late...
GÜELL PARK
2 Audio

GÜELL PARK

As I have already said a few times, Gaudí never considered any of his works completely "finished". Everything was shaped and changed in time and space. The architect almost never made...
GOTHIC QUARTER
2 Audio

GOTHIC QUARTER

In the centuries following the year one thousand, a series of urban planning interventions gave a new face to the old center of Barcelona, transforming it into a treasure trove of buildings and works...
BARCELONETA
2 Audio

BARCELONETA

The neighborhood was built on the artificial embankment that had been created with the debris and discarded stones from the construction of the harbor jetties. It is characterized by high, colorful...
MONTJUÏC
5 Audio

MONTJUÏC

According to another theory, the name comes from a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter. Long abandoned, the hill was again populated in 1929 when it was decided to set up the Expo pavilions here.This...
JOAN MIRÓ FOUNDATION
2 Audio

JOAN MIRÓ FOUNDATION

The building standing before you is a great gift that Barcelona's most important 20th century artist and original exponent of surrealism gave to his hometown. In fact, he himself wanted a gallery and...
PICASSO MUSEUM
3 Audio

PICASSO MUSEUM

You're now in front of the museum located at No. 19, Via Carrer de la Montcada, a medieval street that winds through the Gothic Quarter and dates back to around the middle of the 1100s. The Picasso...
CAMP NOU
2 Audio

CAMP NOU

The stadium was built in the 1950s and expanded for the World Cup in 1982. This "New Field" is the third stadium that's been built for the city's main team, which didn't have enough room in...
PASSEIG DE GRÀCIA
2 Audio

PASSEIG DE GRÀCIA

The avenue starts from Plaça de Catalunya and connects the old town with Gràcia, cutting the Eixample quarter exactly in half, which was the "Extension" added to the city in...
SANTA MARIA DEL MAR
1 Audio

SANTA MARIA DEL MAR

This 14th century church, which is also one of the most beautiful Catalan Gothic style churches, contends for the affection of both locals and tourists along with the Cathedral and Sagrada Familia.Can...
PLAÇA DEL REI
2 Audio

PLAÇA DEL REI

The buildings that face it belong to the Royal Palace complex and are, for the most part, occupied by MUHBA, the Barcelona City History Museum.But let's concentrate on the exterior for now. The...
PEDRALBES
2 Audio

PEDRALBES

You should know that Queen Elisenda de Moncada, the fourth wife of the king of Catalonia, decided to found a monastery here that was devoted to the Virgin Mary, and entrusted it to the Clarisse nuns,...
PLAÇA SANT JAUME
2 Audio

PLAÇA SANT JAUME

On its two opposite sides which almost face each other, you can see two important buildings: to the south side is the Ajuntament, or Town Hall, and on the northern side is Palau de la Generalitat, the...
SANTA MARIA DEL PI
1 Audio

SANTA MARIA DEL PI

As usual, your visit begins with the church's exterior, looking at the austere façade overlooking Plaça del Pi. Massive and powerful, the church has two side gussets. Look at the huge...
AQUARIUM
1 Audio

AQUARIUM

Before going inside, I recommend strolling along the Rambla del Mar, which is sometimes raised to allow large yachts to pass, and visiting the Maremagnum, a collection of shops, bars, and...
PALACE OF CATALAN MUSIC
1 Audio

PALACE OF CATALAN MUSIC

Built in 1908, this building is a masterpiece of so-called "modernism", that is, Barcelona's version of Art Nouveau. It was built as a musical theater, but the architectural and decorative...
MUSEO MARITIM
1 Audio

MUSEO MARITIM

In the 1800s, the arsenals were used for military exercises and to make weapons. But in 1941 civilian authorities took the sites back and founded a naval museum.Your visit begins in the garden, where...
MUSEO MARES
1 Audio

MUSEO MARES

The building you are in, in Plaça de Sant Iu, is the old palace of the counts of Barcelona, where the museum was inaugurated in the middle of the last century. Crossing the tree-lined...
BARCINO
1 Audio

BARCINO

Your pedestrian itinerary, which is entirely within the Barri Gòtic, or Gothic Quarter, will follow the perimeter of Barcino starting from Plaça de la Vila de Madrid. Here you are just...
TravelMate App
DOWNLOAD NOW
THE TRAVELMATE APP
Purchase your activation code, download the TravelMate App, and turn your smartphone into your personal travel companion!
Listen to audio guides about the wonders of the world with TravelMate.
HAVE FUN!