A visit to the Musee Picasso

The Musée Picasso is situated in the Marais in the heart of Paris. It is the largest Picasso collection in the world, including several thousand paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramics, engraving, and even poetry. After his death in 1973, many of Picasso's works went to the French state in settlement of taxes. These are "Picasso's Picassos," not necessarily his most famous works, but rather the paintings and sculptures he kept and valued most. It also covers the artists personal collection of work by friends and influences such as Matisse, Braque, Cézanne, and Rousseau.

It is a relatively small and manageable museum and we go every time we are in Paris. The only drawback are the crowds. We were there on a Thursday afternoon in November and it was crowded! On the other hand, I am always fascinated by how much we learn each time we go about the various periods and genres of his life. I started by "knowing" that I liked his more classical work and drawings and did not like the Cubist or Surrealist works. However, each time I see them and listen carefully to the Audio-Guide, I grow to really like specific works - although mostly the later Surrealist works.

This special exhibit, from the collection of a German-American dealer/collector named HEINZ BERGGRUEN included several hundred new works that we had never seen before (mostly from the Berlin Museum). The painting at right, The Yellow Pullover, is a good example. It is a painting of the photographer/activist/lover Dora Maar. You can really see (after listening to ten minutes of explanation) what she "looked" like and how he saw her. The almost armor-like sweater, the searching eyes, the tense hands, the beautiful hair. But most importantly, you grow to like her and feel you know her.



By the way, this makes the third exhibit we've seen this year of the collected works of a dealer. I wonder if that's a coincidence? It also makes you wonder how the dealers do business that they are able to accumulate such enormous, and valuable, collections. Maybe the artists are right not to trust them.


5 r. de Thorigny </DIV>

Paris- 75003
Telephone: 01 42 71 25 21