A-Muse-Ing Art At Picasso Museum, Malaga

An artist in every sense of the word, Picasso had a flamboyant spark of genius that lives on in his native Malaga. marbellas.com reports on an awe-inspiring collection.

It’s not very often that a museum building can be classed as a work of art in itself, but the sprawling 16th century Palacio de Buenavista is no ordinary edifice. With its blend of renaissance and mudejar elements, the once crumbling site in the heart of Malaga’s historical quarter was renovated two years ago by a team of American and Spanish architects.

The main entrance and permanent collection galleries of the Museo Picasso reside in the newly restored Andalucian palace while a fringe of smaller structures form a tranquil public square. The impressive library and changing exhibition galleries can be found in these purpose-built outposts.

In The Frame

Contrary and unconventional, Picasso had an unquenchable flair for the dramatic. It is this spirit and joie de vivre that lives on in the two hundred odd piece permanent collection, donated to the museum by the artist’s heirs, Christine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso.

Coinciding with the 125-year anniversary of Picasso’s birth in Malaga, the Museo Picasso programme for 2006 includes a series of exhibitions never before seen in Spain.

Outstanding works reflecting the jubilant, post-war South of France will be on show from 13 March in a collection entitled ‘The Picassos of Antibes’. Photographs by Polish artist Michel Smajewski provide a historical and artistic context, arcing the splendid period in which Picasso inked murals such as Antipolis (1946) and the sculpture Head of Woman with Chigon (1932).

A thought-provoking review of the central role of women as artistic subjects in Picasso’s work will be unveiled in October. Exploring the female form which pervades almost every Picasso production, the seventy-piece selection is taken almost exclusively from the first and last decades of the artist’s life.

A Lifetime In Lectures

Swelling the already impressive permanent collection of works, an assortment of rarely seen paintings, drawings and sculptures are on loan to the Museo Picasso in 2006. The temporary new additions encompass groundbreaking innovations and take the visitor on a journey through Cubism, neo-classicism and the re-working of Old Masters.

Surprisingly, Picasso and his native Andalucia had little time for each other during the artist’s lifetime. Despite, or perhaps because the Malagueno spent most of his days in self imposed exile in France, the Museum’s education department have designed an impressive series of lectures, workshops and tours. Nuestro Picasso. Su Obra. Su Vida and I see, I see. What Do You See? bring the audience closer to understanding the complex mysteries of the great master’s life and work.

Palacio de Buenavista, C/San Agustin, 8 Malaga
Tel: 952 602 731

A heady tide of urban renewal surrounds the Museo Picasso. Infused with a bohemian spirit, the passageways around Calle San Agustin are a treasure trove of restaurants, tapas bars and boutiques.

Open daily: Tuesdays to Thursdays, 10 am to 8 pm
Fridays and Saturdays, 10 am to 9 pm
Sundays and public holidays, 10 am to 8 pm