Picasso Museum, Barcelona, Spain

This museum is largely populated with early works by Picasso, and is rich in the history of his development as an artist. It is a must see, and if I were back in Barcelona, I would go back, as I am sure there are many things that I missed that have the potential to move me. Picasso was born in the town of Málaga but his family moved to Barcelona when he was a young boy. The origins of the museum lie in the desire of Picasso’s life-long friend Jaume Sabartés — to whom Picasso had given many of his paintings, sculptures and other artworks — to open a public museum for all to enjoy Picasso’s oeuvre. The building is 14th century Gothic.

This series of paintings of pigeons is quite striking, all displayed in one room. They were painted in the amid to late 1950's. Many of Picasso's works produced during the later 1950s show views through a window or out over a balcony. Some of these may have been inspired by the actual layout of the studio at La Californie. However, these balcony views also recalled the work of Henri Matisse, who died in 1954 and had been both a friend and a rival to Picasso for over half a century.

Lastly, the ceramics on display, which are mostly from the 1960's, show anothe side of Picasso as an artist. Some are (to me) unattractive, but many have the playfulness of this piece, and are also potentially functional.