I love this museum since it traces Picasso’s life with real examples of his work for each period. It’s here really that the non-art history student can really appreciate the greatness of Picasso’s work. Not just some guy who broke the mold and then rode the gravy train for the rest of his life (examples too numerous to mention), Picasso morphed throughout his life, making art whenever his hands weren’t busy with women, food or drink. The museum takes you through his life, world history and his art in chronological order rather than focusing solely on the great pieces. Now that I’ve whet your appetite, it’s a shame we’ll have to wait two years to see it again.
Feel free to shed a quiet tear from either of your unevenly spaced, asymmetrical eyes: the Picasso Museum in Paris closed its doors on Sunday and will not reopen them to visitors for more than two years as it undergoes an extensive renovation, The Associated Press reported. The 32,000-square-foot museum, which opened in 1985 in Paris’s Marais district, holds about 5,000 pieces of art by Picasso, including paintings, sculptures and sketches, but was only able to display between 250 and 300 at a time. During the renovation, which is expected to cost about $28 million and begin next year, the museum will be expanded and made more accessible, as well having electrical problems fixed. In the meantime, the museum will stop lending out its artworks as experts update its inventory, after which the works will be packaged and shipped to storerooms managed by France’s museum authority. The museum offered free admission to its visitors on Sunday, the last day before its renovations began.
[From Picasso Museum Closes for Two-Year Renovation – ArtsBeat Blog – NYTimes.com]
