Opportunities to enjoy world-class art masterpieces abound in Paris.  But, for the next few weeks, there’s a unique opportunity to soak up the truly magnificent creative genius of Pablo Picasso!  Read on for 3 Ways to Experience Picasso in Paris.

Picasso in Paris:  The Musee d’Orsay

Through January 5, 2019, the Musee d’Orsay is hosting an amazing special exhibit called “Picasso:  Blue and Pink.”  From the museum’s web site, “This exceptional event dedicated to the blue and pink periods of Pablo Picasso, is the first large-scale collaboration between the Musée d’Orsay and the Picasso-Paris National Museum. It brings together masterpieces, some of which are presented for the first time in France, and offers a renewed reading of the years 1900-1906, an essential period in the artist’s career, which has never been treated in his together by a French museum.”

Tickets are timed entrances, approximately $20 per person, and I highly recommend reserving on line!  Click here!  While you are at the Musee d’Orsay, do take the time to enjoy the permanent collection of art ranging from 1848-1915, most notably the Impressionists.  The museum is closed on Mondays.

Picasso in Paris:  The Picasso Museum

From the museum’s website, “The decision to install the “dation Picasso” (works donated in lieu of estate taxes) in the Hôtel Salé was made very quickly, in 1974, just one year following the artist’s death. With this process, which gave the State permission to acquire the bulk of Picasso’s works, enriched by donations from his heirs, it was important to find a place to preserve and exhibit them. Supported by the artist’s family, Michel Guy, French Secretary of State for Culture, chose the Hôtel Salé, a private mansion at 5 rue de Thorigny in Paris’ 3rd arrondissement, to house Picasso’s collection. Owned by the City of Paris, the building had been awarded the Historic Monument status on 29 October 1968.

In March 1975, after deliberation, Paris City Council confirmed that the Hôtel Salé would indeed house the Musée National Picasso, a natural choice given that the artist’s work was produced within the walls of large private mansions and other historic buildings.”

The Marais is one of my favorite neighborhoods in Paris, and the Picasso Museum is simply glorious!  Plan at least two hours to really see the collection in its entirety!  The museum is closed on Mondays.

Picasso in Pairs:  The Centre Pompidou

Another special exhibit running through February 25, 2019 is the Cubism Exhibit at the Centre Pompidou.  According to the museum’s web site,  this is the “first exhibition devoted to Cubism in France since 1953, the project finds its originality in the desire to renew and expand to other artists the vision traditionally focused on its two inventors, Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. Rich with 300 works and significant documents of the influence of cubism, the exhibition is articulated chronologically in fourteen chapters.

There are masterpieces, such as the Portrait of Gertrude Stein (1906) or Ambroise Vollard(1909) and Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler (1910) by Picasso, as well as collections of paintings and sculptures never assembled.”  I adore this modern-art museum, and strongly urge you to enjoy the permanent collection as well.  The museum is closed on Tuesdays.

In addition to soaking up Picasso, you will also want to enjoy wonderful restaurants, and my Paris Restaurant Guide has over 20 suggestions!  Click here for my Paris Restaurant Guide!

Enjoy Paris my friends!  What a glorious city!

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