Picasso the Foreigner

27 February 2025 – 29 June 2025

Curated by Annie Cohen-Solal, the exhibition explores the artist’s identity as an immigrant in France, where—despite worldwide fame—he never obtained citizenship. A journey that combines aesthetics and politics to show how Picasso revolutionised 20th-century art while living in the condition of a “foreigner”.
The exhibition *Picasso the Foreigner*, organised by Fondazione Roma in collaboration with Marsilio Arte, is open at Palazzo Cipolla until 29 June 2025.

Produced in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso-Paris (main lender), the Palais de la Porte Dorée, the Museu Picasso Barcelona, the Musée Picasso in Antibes, the Musée Magnelli – Musée de la céramique in Vallauris, and important historic private European collections, the exhibition features more than 100 works by the artist, along with documents, photographs, letters, and videos. For its third Italian stop—after Palazzo Reale in Milan and Palazzo Te in Mantua—the project also includes a selection of previously unseen works, chosen by the curator specifically for the Palazzo Cipolla display.

The original concept was developed by Annie Cohen-Solal, curator of the exhibition, with contributions by Johan Popelard of the Musée national Picasso-Paris.

A major section is dedicated to Picasso’s Roman spring of 1917, spent with Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Sergei Diaghilev, and Leonid Massine.

“Picasso’s Roman spring of 1917 remains a historic moment of artistic rebirth for the ‘foreign’ artist, following the confiscation (December 1914) of his Cubist works by the French government,” notes Annie Cohen-Solal, curator and author of Picasso. A Life as a Foreigner (Prix Femina Essai, 2021), translated into ten languages and published in Italy by Marsilio Editori.

Born in Málaga in 1881, Pablo Picasso settled permanently in Paris in 1904. Although France hosted him until his death and his fame grew internationally, he never obtained French citizenship: the exhibition traces Picasso’s aesthetic and political trajectory to show how he shaped his identity while living in the challenging condition of an immigrant.

The exhibition thus offers an opportunity to further explore how the artist—master of 20th-century art—established himself as a foreigner in France and imposed his aesthetic revolutions.

INCONTRI / TALKS

Thursday 22 May, 6:00 PM
“Picasso. A Life as a Foreigner” with Nobel Prize winner Giorgio Parisi.

Wednesday 28 May, 6:00 PM
“Picasso and the Adolescent” with Professor Massimo Ammaniti.

Thursday 26 June, 6:00 PM
“Picasso and Guernica” with Professor François Hartog.