Picasso Museum: reviews, price and practical tips

Visiting the Picasso Museum

When you carry a name like Picasso, a single building simply cannot contain the master. It took five of them to build a tribute worthy of his talent. Set across a succession of 13th- and 14th-century palaces, the Picasso Museum opened its doors in 1963 in the Ribera neighborhood. This Gothic setting creates an extraordinary encounter with the artist's work. Picking Barcelona was no accident, as Pablo Picasso arrived here at just 14 years old to spend his formative years, even hosting his earliest exhibitions here. It is a wonderful return to the roots of an inspiration that never ran dry.

The early years of a genius

The setting is lavish, with the unmistakable elegance of Catalonia and Gothic architecture. Spanning three floors, you will find 4,300 works by Pablo Picasso, a unique collection that explains the enduring enthusiasm for this museum. It is a masterful journey where raw talent captivates the eye at every turn. While it is hard to single out one canvas over another, you cannot help but admire Picasso's precocious brushwork when he painted First Communion in 1896 or Science and Charity in 1897. They hang alongside pieces created mainly between 1890 and 1917. Though more recent works are rare, the incredible series of Las Meninas is a true highlight of the museum, standing as the only place housing a complete series of 58 paintings riffing on Velázquez. Oils, drawings, prints, and ceramics are all on display, demonstrating through varied techniques and styles the creative genius of an artist who was never afraid of any medium. Drawn from the artist's personal collection, these masterpieces reveal a nearly conventional side of him that you might forget when picturing Picasso the cubist maestro and surrealist icon.