Visting the Picasso Museum(s)

A few months ago we visited Barcelona and had the opportunity to see some of the top places there--e.g. Sagrada Familia--and become more familiar with Modernisme, the Catalan version of Modernism. But we missed the chance to visit the Museu Picasso there, much to our disappointment.

The Barcelona Museu Picasso (there are quite a few others--two more in Spain, several in France) is particularly well-

Pablo Picasso, "Las Meninas," after Velazquez, oil, 1957

endowed with works from the early and formative years of his life, predating even his blue period. In particular I had wanted to see his series based on Las Meninas, the astounding masterpiece by Velazquez that I have loved since becoming aware of it. Picasso loved it too and spent quite a lot of time re-imagining the work, and the Barcelona museum owns more than fifty. Alas, we had to leave this particular Picasso Museum for another time.

During a visit to Malaga a few days afterward, we visit the delightful but tiny Museo Picasso Malaga. Picasso was born in Malaga and lived there until he was about eight, and the city continues to celebrate his childhood residency. This particular museum was founded with works from Picasso's grandson and wife and only has about two hundred of Picasso's works, an infinitesimal fragment of his enormous output. This is a new museum, too, having been open only a decade or so. The collection is small but interesting, comprising family portraits, works on paper, assemblages, sculpture, ceramics, and more. There are few major works here, but the examples they own of Picasso's output are certainly worth seeing.

"Cabeza de Toro," 1942

To my surprise his stupendously famous assemblage of a bull's head is here (on loan from the Paris Picasso Museum), as are a few other well-known images, since Picasso was famous for making many many versions of some of his ideas. This is a particularly family-oriented collection--there are tender drawings of Olga, his first wife, that I had never seen, and paintings of  their son Paulo, among others--but most of the works on display would be considered minor ones. For example, a small, dark oil "Three Doves," was unknown to me before visiting the Malaga museum, and for pretty good

"Three Doves," oil on canvas, 1960

reasons--it is quite dark and not at all engaging to the viewer. There is another really big picture, "Three Graces," dating from the 1920s (Olga was the model) that is surprising to me. The work is dark and monochromatic, oil and charcoal on canvas, and huge (the figures are life size). The figures themselves have the grace that you come to expect from Picasso's drawings, but the work is

"Three Graces," oil and charcoal, 1923

clearly unfinished. My guess is Picasso started this in oil, put it aside, reworked it, including with charcoal, perhaps put it aside again and then forgot it. But maybe he intended it as is. Or maybe he would've discarded it had he remembered it and had the chance. I don't suppose we will ever know.

To my eye, much of the art in this little museum is minor but worth seeing. Certainly it's a beautiful building and an interesting collection. Worth an hour or so.

Incidentally, there is a new Picasso museum set to open in France, endowed by the artist's second wife's granddaughter. This one will be in a converted convent (made me smile) in Aix-en-Provence, named rather grandiosely the Jacqueline and Pablo Picasso Museum. According to the press, it will be the largest collection of his work in the world. I think the old artist would be hugely amused.