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Picasso Museum, Antibes
2010-11-10 10:38
What: Picasso Museum
Where: Place Mariejol, Antibes
When: daily except Monday
Closed: 1 Jan, 1 May, 1 Nov, 25 Dec
Opening times: 10am to 6pm (Jul and Aug to 8pm)
Admission: €6(€3)
Web: http://www.antibes-juanlespins.com
Pablo Picasso, born in Malaga in 1881, is one of Spain's most famous sons; but much of his life was spent here in the South of France, in Vallauris and St Paul-de-Vence just a short distance from Monaco, as well as in Antibes. Following a major re-hang, the Picasso museum, named after the artist, is set to re-open completely from 23 November. Until that date, two of the three floors will be accessible, as well as the sculpture terrace overlooking the sea.
The building which houses the Picasso museum is one of the most historic on the Côte d’Azur. Starting life as a fortress in the city the Romans called Antipolis - later Antibes - it became a bishops’ residence in the middle ages, before passing to the Grimaldis, the royal house of Monaco, who lived there from the 14th century onwards.
In 1925, after its sale to the local council, it became the Grimaldi Museum, whose inspired curator held a variety of crucial exhibitions, including a 1928 show of contemporary French artists including Pierre Bonnard, Paul Signac and Maurice de Vlaminck as well as the Dutch Kees van Dongen.
When the museum reopened after the Second World War, the British Council organized an exhibition of children’s painting, and one of the visitors was Picasso. So struck was he by the building and the history of Antibes that he stayed there from September to December 1946, producing 23 paintings (including 'Joie de Vivre', above) and 44 drawings on maritime and mythological themes, which he later donated to the town. And that was only the beginning.
Returning two years later, Picasso - by then living in nearby Vallauris - exhibited 77 of his ceramic works in the gallery, and in 1949, a special room was named in his honour. Picasso became an honorary citizen of Antibes in 1957, and in 1966 the entire Chateau Grimaldi was renamed the Picasso museum in honour of one of the twentieth century’s finest artists.
If you're a fan of modern art, you may well have visited the Picasso museums in Paris and Barcelona. But no self-respecting connoisseur will miss out on a visit to Antibes, which as well as the maestro's own work, continues its tradition of exhibiting other contemporary paintings and sculptures in a glorious setting overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
One of the most recent of these was 'Nomade', by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, which was exhibited for a time on the sculpture terrace before being dismantled for its journey around the world. This extraordinary modern-day 'thinker', crafted from stainless steel letters, has lived up its name by travelling the globe, and now seems set to settle down permanently in Iowa. Here's the video of its unveiling: