This December we have presented the new programming for the museum for 2014, but before finishing 2013 we would like to take a look back over the activities, exhibitions and work that have been carried out during this year that is coming to a close. Here is a selection of images of the highlights of the museum during 2013:
· 50 years of the Museu Picasso in Barcelona: we have commemorated the 50th anniversary of the creation of the museum. To celebrate it we programmed a series of three exhibitions about the Origins of the museum, the Collection and The Exhibitions, and on the same day itself of the anniversary, we offered an open doors day in which the staff of the museum shared their knowledge about the works of Picasso from the Collection with the public. In the blog you can also find several articles devoted to our anniversary, such as the narration by the journalist Lluís Permanyer about the arrival of the series of Las Meninas to the museum.
David Douglas Duncan. Picasso and Jacqueline . La Californie, Canes, 1957. 50 x 60 cm. Museu Picasso, Barcelona. Gift of David Douglas Duncan, 2013 © David Douglas Duncan 2013 | Self-Portrait. Pablo Picasso. 1907. Oil on canvas. 56x46cm. Národní galerie v Praze
· Donation of photographs by David Douglas Duncan: the war photographer and friend of Picasso took thousands of photos of the artist during the years in which they were very close friends. On occasion of the 50th anniversary of the museum, the photographer has paid homage to Picasso with a donation of a selection of 163 photographs. Until January 19th we will be exhibiting a selection of images taken at La Californie.
·Exhibition “Yo Picasso. Self-portraits”: this has been the first major monographic exhibition held about the self-portrait in the work of the artist. It covered a period of time of more than 70 years of artistic production with a total of 90 works exhibited.
Pablo Picasso, La Vie, 1903, Oil on canvas, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Hanna Fund, 1945.24 | Reyes Jiménez, during the process of studying the work Barcelona Rooftops
· Exhibition “Journey Through the Blue: La Vie”: this season has brought to Barcelona the masterpiece from Picasso’s Blue Period: La Vie. The exhibition, which can be visited until January 19th, highlights the relationship between this work and pieces from the Collection of the museum, and it also presents the scientific study carried out on the work of the museum Rooftops of Barcelona.
Pablo Picasso. Blanquita Suárez. Barcelona, 1917. Oil on canvas. Donation of the artist in 1970 | Pablo Picasso. Portrait of Aunt Pepa. Malaga, June-July 1896. Oil on canvas.57.5 x 50.5 cm. Donationby Pablo Picasso, 1970. MPB 110.010 | Pablo Picasso. The Pigeons, 1957. Oil on canvas. 100 x 80 cm. MPB 70.457
· Travelling works of the museum: many exhibitions wouldn’t be possible without the collaboration work between museums that represent the loan of works. Some of the works from the Collection which have travelled to other exhibitions in 2013 are: Blanquita Suárez, Rooftops of Barcelona, La nana, Portrait of Aunt Pepa, Harlequin, Las Meninas, The Pigeons, Portrait of Jacqueline.
Pablo Picasso. Mademoiselle Léonie (Etude), 1910. Crayon and ink on paper – 64,3 x 49,5 cm. ©Sucesión Picasso. VEGAP, Madrid 2012. Colección FUNDACIÓN MAPFRE | Pablo Picasso,1881-1973. Two Women in Front of a Window. Oil on canvas. Canvas or panel: 397.8×130.8 cm. Frame: 101,6×135.3×5,1 cm. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Gif of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore N. Law
· In residence: on the other hand, works of Picasso from other museums have visited our galleries during this past year: Mademoiselle Léonie, Two Women in Front of a Window, and Jacqueline Seated in an Armchair, among others.
· Conservation and restoration Portrait of the Artist’s Mother: regarding the activities carried out by the department of Restoration and Preventive Conservation, the most notable was the restoration which was carried out of the work, Portrait of the Artist’s Mother. During the restoration process a drawing was discovered on its back.
Detail of the restoration of the Portrait of the Artist’s Mother
· Big Draw, la Festa del Dibuix: for the fourth year in a row the museum has held this popular festival dedicated to drawing! With a total of 25 workshops free of charge for the big and small, the festa was a great success of participation. In the album of photos you can see the images of theevent, with lots of smiling, concentrated faces!
· The Reading Club: this has been the third edition of the Reading Club of the museum with the reading of books linked to the relation of Picasso with Barcelona and the 50th anniversary of the museum as well as the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Guernica. For the 2013-14 season, we have a new coordinator, Borja Bagunyà.
Bookmark | Memory workshop
· Memory workshop for the elderly: this activity of proximity has been developed during the year, designed to get the elderly people from the neighbourhood close to the work and life of Picasso by means of a workshop that, on the one hand, stimulates the cognitive skills of the participants, and on the other hand, boosts their social and cultural relationships.
· Ask a Curator: this is an international initiative that encourages people from all over the world to ask the curators and workers of the museums specific things about their work via Twitter using the hashtag #aksacurator. The museums registered for the 2013 edition increased significantly, with 622 institutions from 37 different countries, and with questions and answers sent via more than 26,000 tweets.
@AmedeoGiulia Our collection curator suggests ‘Manual of a curatorship’ by Thompson, John M. A. London: Butterworths, 1986 #AskaCurator — Museu Picasso, Bcn (@museupicasso) September 18, 2013
We will be beginning next year with a lot of enthusiasm because of the changes brought in by our new managing system of a foundation. And we will keep on working so that the institution continues to be a centre of reference and knowledge about Picasso, committed to research, exhibitions, conservation, education, and publications amongst others, by maintaining our Collection as the main axis.
Happy Holidays!
Museum’s Newsroom
Related links
2012 of the Museu Picasso in images
2011 of the Museu Picasso in images
2010 of the Museu Picasso in images
21 images of what took place in the Museu Picasso in 2009
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