Musée Picasso, Paris

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Update 2011: They have extended the renovation time. The museum will be closed until Spring 2013 as of the last check of their web site. There are traveling exhibits all over the world so look for one near you.

Update 2010: The Picasso Museum Will Be closed from August 24, 2010 up to 2012. In the interim there will be several traveling exhibits including one at the deYoung in San Francisco we are attending. Check your area for a chance to see these visiting exhibits because you won't see them in Paris until 2012. http://www.musee-picasso.fr/homes/home_id23985_u1l2.htm (in French but right click and scroll down to translate this page to English to get a good idea of content)

Update 2009: We were pretty disappointed visiting the Picasso Museum this afternoon. It is in the middle of renovation. Photos are no longer allowed inside the museum. The wonderful displays in the crypt-basement are closed. They are adding wall space that covers much of the beautiful old mansion housing the collection. Much of the collection is going into storage for a 4-year renovation. We'll try it again in 2014 and see there is an improvement, but it wasn't a great visit today. What was available was not well displayed and all the walls weren't even complete yet. There were paintings on one side and beams on the other . . .

Old review below:

There are two excellent reasons to visit the Musee Picasso. First, of course, is the marvelous collection of Picasso's works. The Archives are also open to the public and they include his copious correspondence. It is fascinating. There are also posters and sketches exhibited.

Secondly, the building is of historic importance. You would expect Picasso to be exhibited in a starkly modern building. Not so . . . The collection is in a delightful old Hotel Particular (mansion) in the Marais district of Paris. The lovely mansion was once owned by Aubert-de-Fontenay who was a salt-tax collector. See what tax collectors can afford to build!

If you haven't visited for a while, this is a good time to make another visit because the collection has been rehung and is very well displayed. They have hung a great many more paintings in the collection since our first visit many many years ago.

It is also great fun to wander through the building.

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For those individuals who enjoy Picaso's works, you'll definitely want to visit the Musee Picaso. Picaso's heirs donated an outstanding collection of the artists' work (which is the collection housed here in the Hotel de Sale), in lieu of estate duties.

Along with over 200 paintings there are also sculptures, collages and more than 3000 drawings and carvings, 88 ceramics, as well as illustrated books and manuscripts and some of his private collection by his friends and contemporaries like Cezanne, Rousseau and Braque to name a few.

The musuem isn't large and yoour visit will only take a few hours.

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The museum (formerly Hotel Sale) houses a large collection of Pablo Picasso's work. When Picasso died, the family donated his collection to France in lieu of payment for inheritance tax. There are over 200 paintings along with a vast amount of drawings, ceramics, sculptures, collages and manuscripts. The collection is divided into Picasson's different periods, in chronological order, including cubism and classical phases. As well as the collection, he has his own collection of works of other artists including Cezanne, Matisse and Modigliani.

It cost me around 9 Euros (July 2009) to look around the museum.

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Completed in 1639, l'Hôtel Salé was designed by the architect, Jean de Bouiller, as the residence of the Lord of Fontenay, Pierre Aubert. It is a typical hôtel particulier (mansion) of the period and of the district, with a front courtyard leading into the Renaissance-style palace, which is decorated with interesting sphinx statues (probably added in a later period). The palace changed hands several times thereafter and until it was purchased by the City of Paris in 1964. It was subsequently restored and eventually came to house the Picasso Museum, which opened its doors in 1985. The museum contains an important collection of Pablo Picasso's works, but unfortunately, it has been closed for a major renovation of the palace itself and is not expected to reopen until 2012.

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I visited Musee Picasso last fall. The building is interesting, and the area (Marais) one of my favorites.

For a true hardcore fan of Picasso this is a definite recommended must .
A decent collection of his work and history, with some works by other artists that Picasso collected. (and it WAS an art-lovers bargain for 6,70 admission in the past)

Now (2006) it costs 8,50 euros (gouge imo)
Tarif réduit (de 18 à 25 ans inclus): 6,50
(6,50 euros for a "student" ages 18-25)

The weirdest and most twisted thing is:

one of my favorite works here was not even a Picasso but a Henri Matisse that Picasso bought.

Check out the website below and see what you think.
Musee Picasso

And here is a link to an excellent Picasso website... if you love Picasso, you will end up spending some quality time here:
Online Picasso

Hats off and much thanks to Dr. Enrique Mallen, Professor. Linguistics & Art History,
Foreign Languages. Sam Houston State University,
all Dr. Enrique Mallens collaborators, and Texas A&M Univ. for originally building and hosting the excellent "Online Picasso Project" at the link above.

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I always make it a point to visit a museum or musee they call it here ..so in early 2008 . I am back in Paris again bu this time was a short trip as I was spending most of my holiday in the Rhone Alps areas visiting the breathtaking Annecy ...

Do I need to introduce Picasso to you ? Dont think so ...but perhaps from my little adventure ...the museum is not too big ..just the right size and putting some of the most interesting pieces of his royal highness ....though i have seen some of Picasso's pieces in other museums around the world ...but its always different to see it all in one place ...to see his life, his journey and his passion ...rather than being distracted by the work of other great masters ....just like its my dream to visit Dali's Museum in Figueras, Spain ...

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The Picasso Museum inside the Hotel de Sale is also worth a visit - even for people like me, who are not that fascinated by cubism. But the huge number of paintings and sculptures shows perfectly the change of his style in time

Entree fee is 6,50 EUR, opening hours in summer from 9:30-18:00.

http://www.musee-picasso.fr/

The Picasso Museum is worth seeing, specifically if your a Picasso fan, the museum is a bit off the beaten path so be prepared for a walk. From the Pompidou Centre there are signs that will direct you down several streets that will bring you to the Picasso Museum. Its located in a very quiet section of Paris, if you get lost just ask someone in a cafe, all the locals know where it is. Please note the museum is closed on Tuesdays.