El Blog

These last few years, the Museu Picasso has incorporated in its collections 115 works by Pablo Picasso, 15,871 photographs by various authors, 3,277 photolithographic prints and 24,221 textual documents related to Picasso and the study of his life and work. We owe this important contribution to our collections to the inestimable generosity of a group of people and entities that, with their donations, have wanted to actively participate in the growth of the institution so that, in accordance with the wishes of our founders, the work of Pablo Picasso can be exhibited in a permanent way in the city of Barcelona.

The setting in motion of the Fundació Museu Picasso of Barcelona in 2014 has made the management possible with the resources generated by the Museum. It should be pointed out that, among the main aims of the Foundation, is the fact of “increasing its patrimony by giving value to the collection and completing it in a notable way”, either by means of donations or purchases.

Among the donations we should highlight those made by David Douglas Duncan in 2013, the one by the Editorial Gustavo Gili in 2014 and the one by David Leclerc, with the Brigitte Baer Archive, in 2015.

The 163 photographs donated to the Museum on its fiftieth anniversary by the photographic journalist David Douglas Duncan are a major testimony to the life and work of Picasso from 1956 onwards. Thanks to these, we have within our reach a visual documentary collection of major value, given that it hides keys, evidence and traces that help us get closer to gaining a better knowledge of the artist and his work.

The donation made by Editorial Gustavo Gili includes the eight copper plates that Picasso did to produce the illustrated books of The art of bullfighting and The burial of the count of Orgaz With this donation, the museum is now the owner of the complete series of copper plates of these two publications, given that they join the others previously donated in 1960, 1970 and 1979. The donation also includes the more than 2,800 documents, especially letters, contracts and manuscripts that detail the process of the commissioning, creation and production of the bibliographic works that Picasso did with the publisher.

The donation of the Editorial Gustavo Gili, along with the inclusion of the Brigitte Baer Archive, donated by her nephew David Leclerc, turns the Museum – with a collection of more than 1700 engravings – into a world reference regarding the study of Picasso’s graphic work. Brigitte Baer was the unarguable world authority in this field thanks to her brilliant and exhaustive work of research, study, ordering, cataloguing and interpretation, which culminated in the publications of the seven volumes of the Picasso peintre-graveur: catalogue raisonné de l’oeuvre gravé et lithographié et des monotypes The documentation that the Museum received is what originated from the preparation of the catalogue, as well as that which was subsequently produced as the result of her ongoing research. The catalogue was published but her work didn’t stop, always with the idea of obtaining the maximum precision and recording the smallest possible detail. This subsequent series is still to be studied and published.

This is the first major acquisition of works of Picasso in a long time, and one that has been possible thanks to the creation of the Foundation. This refers to a collection of 96 pieces made up of 9 drawings, a sketchpad with 62 drawings more, a book with 18 gouaches, 7 engravings, as well as 3 dedicated books of the artist, 198 photographs and diverse documentation. This important series comes from the collection of Gustau Gili and Anna Maria Torra, and highlights the close friendship that existed between the couples, Picasso-Roque and Gili-Torra, the link between the artist and Barcelona, and represents an important chapter in the history of this Museum.

The incorporation of this collection has been carried out in batches that, since 2014, have been transferred into the collection of the Museum annually. The transfer process will conclude in 2018, when the complete collection will be property of the museum.  

Finally, a discreet mention should be made to the donators who have wanted to guard their anonymity. Their contribution has helped to increase a heritage that we are perennially working for.

 

 

Bernardo Laniado-Romero

Director of the Museu Picasso

 

Latest donations , 2010-2016

2010 

Alejandro Nadal Joris Donation

2012  

Víctor Oliva Donation

José Antonio Acevedo Donation

Lluís De Bonis Isern Donation

Arturo Taracena Donation

Peter Mussfeldt Donation

Anonymous Donation

2013

Anna Gaspar Donation

Anonymous Donation

David Douglas Duncan Donation

 2014  

Editorial Gustavo Gili Donation

 2015  

Archive Brigitte Baer. David Leclerc Donation

Archive Brigitte Baer. Galería Kornfeld Donation

Fernando Llorens Donation

Família Gaspar-Farreras/ Família Gaspar-Mallol Donation