by islandgirl83

Smith's, Bermuda

November 3, 2005

by leblanfo

Indianapolis, Indiana

October 1, 2004

Admission was €5, but if you can show proof of being a student (international student ID card) or being unemployed (how you prove this I do not know), then admission is halved. Also, I believe the museum is free the first Sunday of the month (closed Mondays).

We waited in line quite a while to enter, and when we did, we were disappointed. Our hero, Rick Steves, gave the museum three triangles, but we felt this was too strong a recommendation. We did, however, use his commentary from his Spain tour book to guide us through, as the free pamphlet was of no use. Descriptions to each painting are only in Spanish and Catalan (the dialect and almost a distinct language spoken in Barcelona), but for each new period in Picasso's life, there is an English description. If you truly want to understand the paintings shown, buy a Picasso guidebook or audio guide.

My family also felt as if we were herded into each new room with the rest of the large crowd, with no time to stop and truly admire the paintings. Most paintings exhibited were from his boyhood and formative years, with very few of what most people would consider to be Picassos. This may show that I am uncultured and such, but it seemed that they framed anything he ever touched (artistic value aside). Finally, beware of getting too close. The workers made me move ,and I was more than a foot away from the wall - this happened to me several times at the Getty in Los Angeles and it ruins the experience for me.

All in all, I would not recommend the Museu de Picasso unless you have a serious interest in art history. There are several better, extensive museums in Europe and Spain at which to spend your time and money. This museum seems too stiff and rigid, almost pompous, in its presentation and takes away from the artwork.

by Hal1026

Scottsdale, Arizona

July 29, 2004

But getting back to the Picasso Museum, here’s an interesting choice of home for one of the most prominent twentieth century artists, or so it might seem at first. Then, as you enter and move from room to room of his work, and your mind and senses begin to weave a more complex picture of a man and an artist, and the journey of both, you begin to understand how appropriate this rather traditional setting in an old quarter of Barcelona is for his work. It was Pablo Picasso’s own personal secretary, Jaume Sabartés, who became the driving force behind the creation of this first Picasso museum, donating his own personal collection to Barcelona in 1960.

Picasso’s strong personal connection with Barcelona—and how this translates in the works here—was most notable in his introduction of his first wife, ballerina Olga Koklova to his family here in 1917 and the Catalan friends he made during this period, among the most important of whom was Jaume Sabartés. This latter friendship was instrumental in the donation of some 57 canvases which comprise the fascinating "Las Meninas" series. Here you see Picasso making a brilliant prolonged interpretation of the young child at the center of Velásquez’s masterpiece; again and again with each new canvas Picasso seems to offer up a new perspective on a distant century. Is he going back in time with his modern eye, or is he breathing new life and dimensions into these figures, bringing them into our own time? This viewer was left wondering about many things, not being a formally trained art historian nor a student of aesthetics. But that was part of the pleasure, and I suspect at least part of the intent of Picasso. By the seventies, Picasso had donated even more of his work—some 1,700 additional paintings and sketches and other creations he did in ceramics. The totality of it all is awesome, while many of the individual works intrigue, enchant or move you. Picasso holds nothing back, whether on canvass, in sketches, or in ceramics. You sense a life force already exerting and expanding itself in the early decades of a long and productive life, a life which unfolded in Barcelona and found creative nourishment here, and which Barcelona rightly goes on celebrating.

by travelprone

Carlsbad, California

May 3, 2004

The collection in this museum stems from his earliest periods of art, especially from 1895 and 1904., and including his Blue and Rose Periods. Although he left Barcelona to reside in Paris, Picasso remained Spanish in spirit,and his famous "Guernica" reflects his outrage at the destruction of that Basque city during the Spanish Civil War. During his lifetime he would not allow the mural to be exhibited in Franco Spain ; on the centenary of his birth, October 25, 1981,"Guernica" took up residence at the Centro Reina Sofia in Madrid. Don’t miss his mature (1957) studies of Velasquez’ Las Meninas that show his appreciation of that great Spanish artist.

Other highlights include early paintings of Barceloneta beach and later paintings of Cannes’ beach. The works here were donated by his friend Jaime Sabartes, Picasso himself and Picasso’s widow, Jacqueline who donated ceramic works. Most interesting to observe is how accomplished an artist he was while he was still a teenager.

The five palaces of which the museum is composed are located in an authentically narrow medieval lane; the edifices themselves were overhauled in the Renaissance style in the 17th century. With their expansive wooden doors and lovely courtyards, they typify the splendor of Barcelona when it was a Mediterranean Sea and trading power in the thirteenth century because they were the residences of wealthy city leaders of the time. In 1974 the whole street, Carrer Montcada was declared to be a national Conjunto Monumental Historico Artistico (national historic and artistic treasure). Art and architecture both provide a feast for visitors here.

For a preview, click here, and then click for ingles Also on www.bcninternet.com are photos of Gothic Barcelona and Modernist Barcelona by Christine Scharf that will prepare you for this special Ribera street, as well as the Eixample.

by Jehcekah

Rochester, Minnesota

January 28, 2003

About three full rooms of the museum are dedicated to Picasso's obsession with Velazquez's masterpiece, Las Meninas. Picasso painted each portion of the portrait in his own style and the simliarities and differences in the paintings can keep you entertained for awhile. The museum isn't terribly large, but I would allow yourself about an hour to and hour-and-a-half to view everything. That is, unless you are very interested in his painting and you spend more time examining them. The museum has a gift shop containing millions of Picasso, Dali, and Gaudi souveniers. There are also very clean toilets and plenty of benches to rest your feet.

by gwelkins

Manhattan, New York

May 3, 2002

The Museo Picasso crams three 15th century palaces: the Palau Berenguer d'Aguilar, Casa del Baro de Catellet and the Palau Meca. There are several periods represented -- in addition to works from his Pink Period and a solid collection of Blue Period pieces there are a selection of Picasso's childhood sketches of Andalusia and Barcelona.

The Barcelona Picasso Museumclearly confirms the ties that unite Pablo Picasso with the city of Barcelona. He did not only finish a solid academic training here, but the artistic effervescence that he experienced in the city was the starting point that opened up for him the path to modernity.

The museum has the most important and exhaustive collections of the works of his youth and education, in particular the ones he did between 1895 and 1904, the years in which the young artist lived in this city. It’s interesting that the works the family chose to gift to the government of Spain were from his later years – large scale drawings, very erotic in nature.. The works here in Spain are almost the bookends of his life. We found them informative and interesting. The work for which Picasso is most well known, the middle years, lives on in the major museums of the world and in private collections

His links to Catalan Modernism and, in particular, to the artists and intellectuals that used to meet at the mythical tavern, Els Quatre Gats (The Four Cats), are reflected in a series of works, chiefly in the portraits that he made of many regular customers. Friends had told us we’d enjoy a drink there, but we never did find it...was it really a myth after all?

by Truly Malin

New York, New York

June 28, 2001

Adult Admission 800 ptas ($4-5)

by apete

Royal Oak, Michigan

March 25, 2001

by Tombrew

Marina del Rey, California

January 7, 2001

by Julieta

Tarrytown, New York

June 6, 2000