★★★★★ 5.0
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Picasso Museum Barcelona
The year is 1963, and workers are hammering the final nails into display cases while Pablo Picasso himself reviews blueprints from his studio in France... this is about to become the world's FIRST museum dedicated entirely to his work, and incredibly, it's opening while he's still alive. You're standing before five interconnected medieval palaces on Carrer de Montcada, Barcelona's most prestigious street back in the 13th century when wealthy merchants built these Gothic mansions. The façade you see at number 15 hides something amazing... during renovations in 1960, workers discovered a massive 13th-century fresco depicting the conquest of Majorca buried under centuries of plaster. Inside, these palaces reveal their secrets through central courtyards and stone staircases that once echoed with the footsteps of Catalan nobility. Today, they house 4,250 Picasso pieces, including his complete reinterpretation of Velázquez's Las Meninas... all watched over by those same Gothic arches that have witnessed eight centuries of Barcelona's evolution.
Did You Know?
- The Picasso Museum in Barcelona was created thanks to the close friendship between Pablo Picasso and his personal secretary, Jaume Sabartés, who donated his private collection as the museum’s foundation and insisted the museum be located in Barcelona, reflecting Picasso’s deep personal and artistic connection to the city—a bond nurtured during his formative years and maintained throughout his life, despite his self-imposed exile from Franco’s Spain.
- Unlike most Picasso museums around the world, Barcelona’s collection is uniquely focused on the artist’s early years and training, with over 4,000 works—including rare pieces from his 'Blue Period' and the complete 'Las Meninas' series (his reinterpretation of Velázquez’s masterpiece)—offering a rare, almost exhaustive look at the evolution of a young genius before he became a global icon.
- The museum is housed in a series of five adjoining medieval palaces on Montcada Street, blending historic Catalan Gothic architecture with modern exhibition spaces; this architectural fusion not only preserves Barcelona’s heritage but also creates a distinctive backdrop for Picasso’s revolutionary art, making the visit as much about the city’s history as about the artist’s.