The Museu Picasso is housed in five Catalan-Gothic-style palazzos dating from the 13th and 14th centuries, and opened to the public in 1963. It is now an essential museum for anyone wanting to find out about the artist’s formative years.
Palau Aguilar Montcada, 15
The original house dates from the 13th century, with major renovations being undertaken between the 15th and 18th centuries.During the 13th and 14th centuries, the palace belonged to several noble families from the court of Aragón. It was bought by the Coromines-Desplà in 1386, members of the Barcelona haute-bourgeoisie who, in 1400, sold it to the merchant Berenguer d’Aguilar.
Successive generations of the Aguilar family refurbished the property, leaving traces of very diverse styles. The palace passed to the Clerch and Pons families in 1837 and finally, on November 3rd 1953, Barcelona City Council bought it, carrying out extensive restoration work due to the building’s terrible state-of-repair.
The central courtyard with the open-air stairway, pointed arch gallery and flamboyant Gothic sculptures dates from the 15th century. There are coffered ceilings on the first floor.
The remains of a large late 13th century fresco are conserved, evoking the conquest of Majorca by Jaume I in 1229. The mural was uncovered during restoration work in the ‘60s, on removing the wall coverings in one of the galleries and was moved to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, where it is housed today.
Palau del Baró de Castellet Montcada, 17
A mediaeval Palace in origin, it underwent profound renovation work in the 18th century. Set around a central courtyard in the mediaeval style, the façade conserves a 16th century religious motif and to the inside, a marvellous neo-classical room on the main floor. The history of the owners dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries. The Gerona family owned the palace in the 15th century and it was occupied by several Catalan aristocratic and bourgeois families from the 16th to 18th centuries between sales and inheritances.
It received its name from the title awarded in 1797 to the owner and renovator of the building Marià Alegre d’Aparici I d’Amat by King Carles IV.
In the mid-18th century, the Baron of Castellet ordered a neo-classical room be built with marble elements and polychrome motifs, a mix of classical and baroque elements lending the room the sumptuousness of European classicism. Upon his death in 1831, the baron left it to Santa Creu Hospital.
In the second half of the 19th century, the building was rented by different tenants until it was bought by the Rius family. In the 1950s, it passed into the hands of Barcelona City Council.
Palau Meca Montcada, 19
A palace from the 13th-14th centuries that was heavily renovated in the 18th like the other palaces on the street. It is set around a central courtyard in the mediaeval style with preserved coffered polychrome mediaeval ceilings and 19th century decorative ceilings on the main floor. The oldest known documentation shows that the palace was owned by Jaume Caveller – head councillor at Barcelona City Council – in 1349. His daughter Felipona married the politician Ramon Desplà and their son, Ramon Desplà i Cavaller, made the Desplà Palace the most important building of the entire block of houses.
It passed into the hands of the Cassadors or Caçadors and their heirs in the 16th century, the Marquises of Ciudadella, the first of whom was Josep Meca i Caçador who gave his name to the palace. His widow sold the house to the merchant Segimon Milans in 1719. The Milans family orchestrated the major renovation of the building which had been largely destroyed by the 1714 bombardment.
It passed to the Sisters of Christian Doctrine with the Santa Madrona friendly society being set up in 1901, later becoming part of a banking institution’s benevolent fund. The latter and Barcelona City Council signed a transfer agreement for the palace on 5th December 1977 and, thanks to this agreement, the renovation and extension project at the Picasso Museum was begun in 1981, opening to the public officially on 11th January 1982. The renovation served to connect the Meca Palace to the Aguilar and Baró de Castellet palaces.
Casa Mauri Montcada, 21
A building from the 18th century set around a courtyard. The house was partially built over Roman era structures belonging to one of the towns in the outskirts of Barcino colony. The façade has a small wooden truss – a characteristic 18th century enclosure system which is practically the only one remaining in Barcelona. It is possible that the house once formed part of the neighbouring Meca Palace outbuildings in the 13th century. Between 1378 and 1516, it belonged to the Rocha family with documentation missing until 1716, when it was inhabited by F. Casamada.
The building underwent many renovations, the most important in 1872 when it was joined to the neighbouring house, the palau Finestres, owned by Josep Vidal i Torrents. From that moment, a large part of the building was given over to industrial purposes. In 1943, it was purchased by Mauri confectioners. It became a part of the Picasso Museum in 1999.
Palau Finestres Montcada, 23
As with the rest of the palaces that constitute the Picasso Museum, the Finestres Palace retains original buildings from the 13th century. The building was built atop the remains of a necropolis dating from the end of the Roman era. The house is set around a large courtyard with the characteristic outdoor stairway leading to the main floor. The ground floor preserves a series of rooms with exquisite arcades. The first floor houses two large triple windows with windowpanes or columns. It preserves a magnificent coffered ceiling from the late 13th / early 14th centuries which has been restored. The top floor has an elevation and open or sun gallery.
The most important reforms were undertaken in the 15th and 17th-18th centuries when the round arch gallery crowning the inner courtyard was added.
The building belonged to the Marimon family from 1363 to 1516. In 1698, it passed to the Dalmases family, owners of the Dalmases Palace at Number 20, Carrer de Montcada. In 1872, Josep Vidal i Torrents bought the property and attached it to casa Mauri. Barcelona City Council purchased it in 1970 and it is presently used to house temporary exhibitions at the Picasso Museum.
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| Harlequin, 1917 - Oil on canvas |
The Picasso Museum in Barcelona is a key reference for understanding the formative years of Pablo Ruiz Picasso. The genius of the young artist is revealed through the 4,249 works that make up the permanent collection. Furthermore, the Museu Picasso, opened in 1963, also reveals his deep relationship with Barcelona: an intimate, solid relationship that was shaped in his adolescence and youth, and continued until his death.
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| Portrait of Jaume Sabartés, sitting |
Jaume Sabartés, Barcelona now has the youthful work of one of the twentieth century’s most significant artists.The history of the Picasso Museum in Barcelona is the chronicle of the artist’s firm wish to leave the imprint of his art in our city. Thanks to the wishes of Picasso and his friend and personal secretary,
The Museum is very rich in regard to work from the training periods in the life of the artist; we could say that it is practically exhaustive up to the Blue Period, of which the Museum has a priceless group of works.
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| Las Meninas (infanta Margarita María), 1957 |
Furthermore, the Museum houses an important representation of works from 1917, and the series, Las Meninas (1957) and a very large Picasso’s prints collection, now displayed in the rooms opened in the beginning of 2008.
The Museum has undergone successive renovations and expansions, and it’s currently starting to develop new programmes, activities and services to become a reference place, envisaged to spreading knowledge and to fostering the visitor’s participation and critical views. The Museum wishes to be a dialogue space, exploring new approaches to Picasso’s work and influence and offering new perspectives on the Museum Collection.
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Sources : Museu Picasso
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