The early years of the life of Pablo Ruiz Picasso are closely linked to Malaga, where he was born in 1881. Family tradition also played a large part in shaping his character. His life and works would later see him become the most famous native of Malaga of all.
This open, cosmopolitan city, birthplace of a unique artist and now a focal point for art and culture worldwide, will always remember Picasso as its favourite son.
The Picasso Museum
In 2003 the city of Pablo Picasso’s birth became home to the Museo Picasso Málaga which is a museum devoted to the artist.
Picasso was born into the rich cultural heritage of Málaga, the beautiful Mediterranean port of Andalucia in southern Spain.
Situated at geographical crossroads, Málaga has been an important city since before the days of ancient Rome, and the region was monumental in its impact on world culture. Picasso carried on this legacy and became an innovator of artistic styles and techniques, changing the course of modern art.
The new museum has an extensive selection of works by the artist from the private collections of Christine Ruiz-Picasso, the widow of Picasso’s son Paul, and their son, Bernard.
Their dedication to Picasso and his native city led to the creation of the Museo Picasso Málaga. The permanent collection is complemented with temporary exhibitions that emphasize Picasso’s role in the art in the twentieth century.
The museum was designed by Richard Gluckman of Gluckman Mayner Architects, with Isabel Cámara and Rafael Martín Delgado of Cámara/Martín Delgado Arquitectos and ARUP engineers, to unite traditional and contemporary architecture in a 89,350-square-foot museum complex. The Museo Picasso Málaga is an international centre for the arts, with large-scale galleries for temporary exhibitions, as well as an auditorium, education centre, library and archives, restoration facilities, bookstore, and gift shop.
The Andalucian government funded the construction of the whole museum with Christine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso whp worked closely with the President and the Minister of Culture of the Junta de Andalucia throughout the museum’s development. Carmen Giménez, an internationally recognized curator of modern art, is the Director of the Project Museo Picasso Málaga. The museum opened in October 2003.
A Personal Look at Picasso
The permanent collection captures the extraordinary vision of Picasso. More than 200 paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, and graphic works illuminate the entire breadth of his long and prolific career, from his first academic studies to his late paintings in the 1970s.
The collection encompasses his ground-breaking innovations and the wide range of styles, materials, and techniques that he embraced. Several of Picasso’s best-loved paintings are on display at the Museo Picasso Málaga. Many of these works have not been exhibited widely, and some have never been viewed publicly before. All are the generous donations and long-term loans from the private collections of Christine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso.
Christine Ruiz-Picasso is the widow of Picasso’s eldest child, Paul, from his marriage to Olga Kokhlova; Bernard is the son of Christine and Paul. Their collections are not only private but personal: this is the art that Picasso gave to his family, and the art that he kept for himself, to be inherited after his death.
The Museo Picasso Málaga will chart each stage in his development as an artist with a chronological display of works. Two separate galleries show works on paper, and one room is devoted to sculpture and ceramics.
Related Sites:
Picasso museum in Malaga – The Picasso Museum in Malaga.
