Museu Picasso

The Museu Picasso (, "Picasso Museum") is an art museum in Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It houses an extensive collection of artworks by the twentieth-century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, with a total of 4251 of his works. It is housed in five adjoining medieval palaces on Montcada Street in the La Ribera neighborhood in the Old City of Barcelona. It opened to the public on 9 March 1963, becoming the first museum dedicated to Picasso's work and the only one created during his lifetime. It has since been declared a museum of national interest by the Government of Catalonia. Highlights of the collection include two of his first major works, The First Communion (1896), and Science and Charity (1897). In particular, the Museu Picasso reveals Picasso's relationship with the city of Barcelona, a relationship that was shaped in his youth and adolescence and continued until his death. History The original idea for the museum came from Picasso's lifelong friend and secretary, Jaume Sabartés, whom Picasso had given many paintings, drawings, and prints since meeting in 1899. Originally, Sabartés intended to found the museum in Málaga, Picasso's birthplace. It was Picasso himself who suggested that Barcelona would be more appropriate, given his long-standing connections with the city.