Picasso Museum [antikvár]

Jtwí "It's like being in the Louvre and an ethnographical collection at the same time, not in a museum devoted to one man alone," Wemer Spies wrote about the Musée Picasso. "Ufa and works in ail their multiplicity are on display. Picasso had experienced this strange sensation himself: 'One has the impression of discovering an unknown civilization.'"'' This is exactly the feeling the visitor has on walking into the museum. Fascinated yet disconcerted, one enters a pantheon in which the exempta are not those of our ordinary world. Our eye is forced to look at things differently A recent public survey showed to our astonishment that 60% of our visitors did not realize they were in a piace devoted to the work of one man. They thought they were in a ¦¦ ^ museum dedicated to modern art in general, a kind of piquant anthology of the history of forms from 1900 to the present day This misapprehension may be due to the absent-mindedness or naivety of the average visitor, but nevertheless reveals an underlying truth: the equation "Picasso - modern art' has existed for a long time, as if this man had been capable of -including all the art forms of his epoch in his own work All? Almost all - he certainly asked all the questions that gave birth to them, one after another, and every now and then, in this eternal ¦ quest, he paused to offer us a masterpiece. When confronted with this wealth of work, it is understandable that other museums actually devoted to modern art may sometimes appear rather bland, like some watered-down version. The whole world in a nutshell is a fitting description of the Musée Picasso, this modest-sized, historically rich mansion that houses the artistic inspiration of our entire era. The museum owes its existence to two men. One, Michel Guy a former minister who chose and allocated the building - and the exuberant baroque mansion protected by two sphinxes suits Picasso's personality and works perfectly - and the other, a museum curator, Dominique Bozo, who selected the works for the dation with such discernment A third protagonist should be mentioned - the late Roland SImounet, the architect who respected the Hôtel Sale's volumes, who let in the light and carved out extra space without destroying anything. And lastly there was the more discreet contribution from the artists friend Diego Giacometti, who designed the delicate candelabra in white resin, along with the chairs, settees, and tables in Pompeian bronze. Ten years after its creation, between four and five hundred thousand annual visitors make their way to the Musée Picasso, to discover this miniature Louvre of an unknown civilization. ? 1. Le h/lusée Picasso, ed. Carré and RMN, 1994. reface Gérard Régnier, director of the Musée Picasso t II 3. Flower Vase, 1948, terracotta, engobes, enamel, 56x33.5x25.5 cm/ Ceramics provided an occasion for Picasso to combine his skills as a painter and a sculptor. 4. Paintings, sculptures, and furniture complement the rocaille-style woodwork of the 17th-century residence.