El Blog

This autumn we are carrying out various changes in the works of the Collection both of the paintings as well as the works on paper.  Due to questions of preventive conservation it is important to change the works on paper every three months: in this way, and given the fact that we have a very large collection of these works, the rotational system lets us see the various works that Picasso did in this format, at the same time as applying suitable criteria  for the conservation of works on paper.

It is important to highlight the fact that the changes are always made in such a way that the discourse of the Collection has sense. For this reason not only are the works on paper changed, but also some of the oil paintings exhibited and in this way the coherence of the exhibition is maintained.

Among these changes it is worth mentioning the presentation of the Sketchbook of Picasso in Paris, a small album that dates back to 1900, in which there appears a series of drawings and sketches.  The museum has a total of 18 sketchbooks with the artist’s notes, but this one in particular is a small jewel of the Collection.  In it, Picasso included the different clothing of the Parisian women of the time by means of watercolours and coloured drawings of an extraordinary quality.  This notebook is exhibited in room V and each month a different page will be displayed.

Seated Woman, reading. Picasso. Paris, 1900. Graphite pencil, watercolour and pastel on paper
Lady, facing, with stick. Picasso. Paris, 1900. Graphite pencil, watercolour and pastel on paper
Album (Paris, 1900). Inscription, on the inside front cover, sums and subtractions. Picasso. Paris, 1900. Conté pencil and graphite pencil

In this same room you can also see a comparison between the Barcelona and Paris of 1900 with urban scenes of both cities.

Furthermore, in the rooms which occupy the series of Las Meninas some changes have also been made. The major oil painting of Las Meninas (group) of 1957 has travelled to the Guggenheim Museum of New York for the exhibition “Picasso Black and White”.

In this same room the museum is exhibiting, until the 9th December and within the framework of the proposal  “National Library of Spain: Other views”, the print by Francisco de Goya, Las Meninas (1779-1782), from the collection of the National Library of Spain, that is celebrating its tercentenary. This work will be exhibited with two works by Pablo Picasso from the collection of the museum: the sketch for Las Meninas (16/08/1957) and the copy that a young Picasso did between 1897-1898 of a portrait of Philip IV, painted Velázquez around 1653, in a dialogue with the rest of the series of Las Meninas of 1957.

Francisco de Goya. Las Meninas, ca. 1780-1785 – Print of laid paper: etching, dry print and etcher’s needle
Pablo Picasso – Sketch for Las Meninas – Cannes, 16th August 1957 – blue pencil on paper – donation by Catherine Hutin, 2009
Pablo Picasso – Copy of a portrait of Philip IV, painted by Velázquez around 1653 – painting on canvas – 1897/1898

Another important change to highlight is in room VIII, in the  Blue period, in which a whole series of drawings from 1902 and 1903 are jointly exhibited with prints from the years between 1930 and 1960.

Woman’s head. 1903. Pen on paper | Tête de face. 4th February 1934

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