Seven excellent locations to celebrate the artist’s legacy are listed as this year commemorates the 50th anniversary of his passing.
Picasso’s birthplace is Málaga, and he often expressed his desire for a museum dedicated to his works in the city. His wish has been fulfilled, and Málaga now boasts a fantastic museum that will soon hold an exhibition on the artist’s use of the body as an instrument. The exhibit will showcase Picasso’s sculptures, which incorporate a range of styles and materials to express the human form. Visitors can also explore the places in Málaga that influenced Picasso, including his birthplace home, his nursery school, his father’s workshop, and his baptism church. Although he never returned to Málaga after the Civil War, the city left a lasting impression on him. The Picasso Sculptor: Matter and Body exhibition runs from May 8th to September 10th, 2023, and Tours by Locals offers guided tours starting at £42pp. Visitors can stay at the Parador de Málaga Gibralfaro, where double rooms start at £114.
Between the ages of nine and thirteen, Pablo Picasso resided in the charming Galician metropolis of La Coruña. The city’s Fine Arts Museum has a collection of figure studies in sketchbooks, as well as a stunning oil painting of a sparrow from the artist’s teenage years. The museum’s current exhibition commemorates eleven stages of Picasso’s life. Visitors can tour the luxurious apartment where his family settled in 1891, but also explore the city’s rough ambiance, which would have been all too familiar to Picasso. The hilly old town is worth exploring, as are the handsome glass-balconied buildings that earned La Coruña the nickname “the Crystal City” during the Edwardian era. The Fine Arts Museum is currently hosting the exhibition “Picasso: White in the Blue Memory” until June 25th. Visitors can stay at Meliá Maria Pita, where double rooms start at £65.
During Pablo’s lifetime, the Museu Picasso in Barcelona became the first museum devoted entirely to his works. The artist spent his teenage years in Barcelona and, at the age of 13, joined an advanced art class at the school where his father taught. The museum’s collection now contains over 4,000 works from his formative years and spans across five large palaces on Carrer Montcada. Alongside two other Picasso exhibitions in Barcelona, the museum will collaborate with the Fundació Joan Miró later this year for a show focused on the friendship and work of both artists. A guided Picasso walking tour is available, which includes stories from Picasso’s youth, a visit to his art school, Escola de la Llotja, and a stop at Els Quatre Gats, a beer hall and cabaret where his first exhibition was held. The Miró-Picasso exhibition runs from October 19th to February 25th, 2024, and combined tickets for the Picasso Walking Tour and skip-the-line admission to Museu Picasso start at £31. Visitors can stay at H10 Cubik, where double rooms start at £94.
Explore beyond Barcelona Picasso was known for his fascination with Catalonia, as seen in his numerous landscape paintings. One of his beloved locations was the small village of Horta de Sant Joan, situated around 200km from Barcelona. It was here that he spent a year, finding inspiration and solace, before returning to develop his proto-Cubist style. In fact, he once said, “Everything I know I learned in Horta.” You can follow in his footsteps by visiting the village and staying at Casa del Pintor, a three-bedroom house with a minimum two-night stay starting at £278. Don’t forget to visit the Picasso Centre, which displays his artwork from his time in the village. Take a tour of the village’s historic sites, including the Tafetans farmhouse, the Plaza de Missa, and the San Salvador convent, all of which appear in his paintings.
Madrid is a city that offers a fantastic array of tapas bars, trendy neighborhoods, and an exciting nightlife. However, what makes it even more enticing is its golden triangle of immense museums: the Prado, Reina Sofia, and Thyssen-Bornemisza. A city break to Madrid is always a good idea, especially this year, which marks the commemoration of Pablo’s life. The artist studied at the Fine Arts Academy in Madrid and spent a lot of time at the Prado, where he copied works of famous artists like Goya, Velázquez, El Greco, and Titian. This year, there are several exhibitions dedicated to his work, including an exhibition showcasing his Cubist links to El Greco at the Prado. Alternatively, you can head to Casa de Velázquez, which is running an exhibition called Picasso v Velázquez, highlighting his unique approach to the earlier master. There are seven other Picasso exhibitions scattered across the city. The Prado’s Picasso – El Greco exhibition will run from June 13 to September 17 (museodelprado.es), while Picasso v Velázquez at Casa de Velázquez will run from September to November (esmadrid.com). If you plan to visit Madrid, you can stay at La Posada del Dragon (posadadeldragon.com), where double rooms start at £150.
