Is the Picasso Museum in Barcelona Really Necessary?

The question that heads this post, regarding the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, is (one might suppose) merely a rhetorical exercise. In another sense, it is an unfair question. Yes, there are many Picasso Museums worldwide, at least five of which are in Spain, for example. Even with the enormous amount of work that Picasso created throughout his lifetime, however, is there really enough to spread among all these museums focusing on his genius? Or, in fact, does that mean that one (or more) such museum might, as has been remarked about Barcelona’s museum, end up with leftovers, and not possess much of true significance?

As I said, the question is unfair. To the people who have shepherded Barcelona’s Picasso Museum down through the decades, the mission of presenting a collection of Spain’s quintessential modern artist to the people of Catalonia is one that I am sure they take very seriously. A number of major collectors of Picasso’s art have given their collections to this museum, and Picasso himself on at least one occasion gave a substantial amount of his own work to the museum as well, to insure that its collection would be noteworthy.

And as one begins exploring the museum’s permanent collection, there are certainly some works to suggest at least the start of a comprehensive consideration of the artist’s life work. For example, in the first gallery, we see Science and Charity, a student work from 1897 – but a substantial work at that.

Not far from there is a drawing from the next year, 1898, of Carmen, the gypsy from Prosper Merimee’s novella who inspired Bizet’s famous opera, a character who was an obsession of Picasso throughout his life. This drawing may be his first attempt to represent this character who meant so much to him.

After that, though, the collection has huge holes. And with good reason – so many of the major works of Picasso’s maturity have been snatched up by the world’s major art museums, leaving slim pickings for a small regional museum like this one.

But with what they have, this plucky little museum does what it can. To me, one of the most noteworthy proofs of how important this museum is, is that it has come (down through the decades) to occupy what were formerly 5 adjoining Medieval palaces. Little by little, the collection, and the museum’s reach, has expanded to fill all five of this modest beautiful structures. In a sense, the buildings themselves have become part of the allure of the museum, I believe.

That being said, there are some gems among the museum’s holdings. From the Still Life from 1901, through at least one print connecting him to his muse, Marie-Therese Walter, through to the late pigeon series, there are pieces to remind us of many of his stylistic shifts throughout his life.

Probably the one major reason for visiting the museum, if you are a fan of Picasso, is his Las Meninas series, created around the same time that he painted his pigeon paintings (he is said to have taken a break from the former project to work on the latter). Inspired by the much-studied Velazquez painting of the same name, Picasso’s Las Meninas and the dozens of studies he made of it are all contained with a few adjoining galleries. You can see all the different ways he considered re-interpreting the figures in the original painting, before finally arriving at his version. Or did he first make his version, and then spend weeks and months breaking it down into pieces? I am not sure. But having all the studies and the painting itself is a major coup for the museum.

So I guess in the final analysis, here is how I feel about this museum. If you have the ability to get to some of the other Picasso museums, and to the major world museums that have good collections of Picasso (like the Prado in Madrid and the Met Museum in New York City), I would suggest seeking out those museums. And only if your one trip is to Barcelona, and you want to see Picasso, then go ahead and join the throngs of people (it is really popular) at the Barcelona Picasso Museum. Or if you are a huge fan of Picasso, and feel the need to see everything he ever created, then go. Otherwise, there are lots of other things to do in Barcelona, and you can easily skip this one. Like, for example, maybe you have heard of this guy Gaudi who created a couple of buildings there…

The post Is the Picasso Museum in Barcelona Really Necessary? appeared first on The Dairy Free Traveler.