Picasso Museum, Barcelona

About the Picasso Museum

Pablo Picasso spent his youth in Barcelona: he studied at the art school here, painted his first major works and met friends at the Els Quatre Gats café. The museum opened in 1963, and the artist himself gave it works and, later, whole series.

The collection fills five medieval palaces of the 13th to 15th centuries on Carrer de Montcada, linked by courtyards and staircases. It holds more than 4,000 works, paintings, drawings, prints and ceramics. It isn't a museum of famous Cubism but the story of how a boy from Málaga became Picasso.

What to see in the museum

The first rooms are the most surprising: the teenage Picasso paints academic portraits and landscapes with an adult's skill. Here hangs the large Science and Charity of 1897, painted when he was fifteen. Then come Barcelona street scenes, Blue Period paintings and works from his Paris years.

Separate galleries hold the Las Meninas series of 1957: 58 paintings in which Picasso takes Velázquez's famous canvas apart again and again, in close-up, in patches of colour, or with the pigeons from his studio window. The visit ends with ceramics and prints from his later years.

What to see at the Picasso Museum

• Early works — a teenager's portraits and landscapes.
• Science and Charity — the large 1897 canvas.
• Blue Period — melancholy blue paintings.
• Las Meninas — 58 variations on Velázquez.
• Ceramics — plates and vases from later years.
• The palaces — medieval courtyards and staircases.

Carrer de Montcada and El Born

Carrer de Montcada is one of old Barcelona's loveliest streets. In the Middle Ages rich merchants built their palaces here, and the stone façades with coats of arms and inner courtyards survive almost unchanged. Besides the Picasso Museum, the street has other museums and galleries.

Around it is El Born, with narrow lanes, designer boutiques and tapas bars. At the end of the street stands the basilica of Santa Maria del Mar, with Passeig del Born beyond. After the museum it's easy to have lunch nearby.

Tips for your visit

Come at opening time or late in the day, as the early-work galleries get crowded at midday. Bags and backpacks have to be checked in. Photography is usually not allowed in the permanent collection, but it is in the courtyards.

If you know Picasso only from Cubism, start with the audio guide, which helps you follow how his style changed. The museum is great for teenagers who draw themselves: the early works show how much craft lies behind the 'simple' later pictures.

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How to do it right

• Book a timed ticket online.
• Closed on Mondays.
• The early works are the highlight.
• El Born and Santa Maria del Mar are next door.

Questions