Picasso Museum in Paris: from the beginnings to the present

Entertainment of the French capital is not limited to the romance of the Eiffel Tower and fresh croissants. It has a large number of attractions, and along with the famous Louvre, a significant place in the history of the country is the Picasso Museum in Paris. Here are the works of the most famous Spanish artist, influenced the development of art of the twentieth century.

The gallery is fully dedicated to the works of Pablo Picasso - hundreds of paintings written in various genres, sculptures, ceramics and works of his beloved artists of this great man. Visitors to the museum will easily trace the entire creative path of the artist - from the sketch of a poor Spanish student to the great works in the last years of his life.

Museum building

The museum is located in the mansion "Hotel Sale". Now this is a historic building that is under state protection. The mansion was built in 1659 with the participation of architects who made their hand to create the royal Louvre, for the entrepreneur Pierre Ober. The first owner of the palace earned his fortune by increasing taxes on salt. Actually, the idea of the name was derived from this fact (from the French name of the mansion is translated as "salty"). However, the businessman's fame was short-lived - in 1661 he was ruined, and his palace began its history.

For the entire period of its existence, the modern museum of Pablo Picasso in Paris has changed many owners. Since 1668, about 20 years, the palace belonged to the Venice embassy, and in the XIX century turned into a school of arts and crafts. Only in the 60s of the XX century the mansion passed to the city hall, and in 1974 it was taken by the state in a hundred-year lease from the Paris administration. Then the restoration of the building lasted about 11 years - the task was to restore the object without affecting its historical character. For the museum this place is chosen not by accident - historians know that Picasso loved beautiful buildings with atmospheric architecture and a deep past.

A little bit about the history

The first idea of creating a museum dedicated to the works of Picasso, appeared in 1975 - already 2 years after his death. The city, where the creation of an extensive collection was planned, was not chosen by chance. The Spanish creator was established in Paris as an artist, acquired a fortune and lived most of his life.

The museum was opened in 1985. Despite his short life, he managed to acquire an interesting story. The official opening occurred only 10 years after the appearance of this idea due to a lack of works by the artist. Find the creations of Picasso was extremely difficult, even in the treasuries of eminent collectors of his paintings come across extremely rarely. And all because his paintings the artist did not like to sell - he left all his treasures to his descendants.

The fate of the heritage

Minister of Culture André Malraux, who was famous at that time, was concerned about the fate of the works of the famous artist. He was sure that after Picasso's death all his masterpieces would disperse around the world and quietly settle in private collections. The Minister had all the power to influence the legislation of that time. So there was an addition in the form of the increased rate of the taxation on the inheritance. Now the descendants instead of large sums of money could pay with the state works of art.

After the death of the artist, the value of his legacy, even according to rough estimates, was estimated at one billion francs. The full owners of the property were his last wife Jacqueline Rock and son Paulo, who did not have the means to pay an impressive tax on the paintings. Therefore, a commission was set up, which determined the list of works that will depart from France. The assortment was huge, so it was decided to take only absolute masterpieces.

Genius works

It was thanks to the artist's family that the first unique collection was created, which was supplemented by the Picasso Museum in Paris. The works were supplemented by another portion of the paintings in 1990, when the artist's widow died. Since then, the gallery has gradually replenished with single copies, which were kindly provided by the owners of private collections.

Now the Picasso Museum in Paris has an extensive collection of 5,000 copies and tens of thousands of archival documents. Attention visitors are invited more than 200 paintings, about 1500 drawings, sculptures, engravings, ceramics and experimental creations of Picasso. Also there is an exposition with personal photos, where the artist is depicted with his family.

After restoration

In 2009, the global restoration of the museum began. It lasted 5 years. The official opening of the renovated Picasso museum in Paris survived on October 25, 2014. The date coincided with the anniversary of the great artist's birthday. Long-term reorganization of the building expanded the area 3 times, which allowed to increase the gallery. The museum was supplemented with a personal collection of genius, which included pictures of other famous artists.

The interior of the mansion is decorated with furniture made by designer Diego Giacometti to decorate the Picasso Museum in Paris. To reconstruct power spent 52 million dollars. This is one and a half times more than planned.

Address and opening hours

The third district of the French capital is full of outstanding sights, the Picasso museum in Paris was also found here. The address where the "Sale" mansion can be found is: Mare district, Torini street, 5. The easiest way is to get to the museum by metro (train of the 8th line, get off at the station "St. Paul") or bus (routes No. 29 , 96, 69, 75).

This landmark is easy to find - every local resident will tell you where the Picasso Museum is in Paris. Opening hours of the exposition are from 9.30 to 18.00 every day, except Tuesday. Weekend 2 times a year - January 1 and December 25.