Picasso
lo straniero

Created in collaboration with the Musée national Picasso-Paris, the 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 significant historic private collections across Europe, the exhibition will feature more than 100 works by the artist, along with documents, photographs, letters, and videos. For its third Italian venue, following Palazzo Reale in Milan and Palazzo Te in Mantua, the project is further enriched by a selection of previously unpublished works, chosen by the curator exclusively for the exhibition layout at Palazzo Cipolla.
The original idea for the project was conceived by Annie Cohen-Solal, curator of the exhibition, with a contribution by Johan Popelard from the Musée national Picasso-Paris.

The exhibition will feature a significant section dedicated to the Roman spring of 1917, spent by Pablo Picasso with Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Serge de Diaghilev, and Leonid Massine.

«The Roman Spring of Picasso in 1917 remains a historical moment of rebirth for the “foreign” artist, after the confiscation (December 1914) of his cubist works by the French government» comments Annie Cohen-Solal curator and author of the book Picasso. A Life as a Foreigner (Prix Femina Essai, 2021) already translated into 10 languages and published in Italy by Marsilio Editori.

Pablo Picasso, born in 1881 in Malaga, Spain, settled permanently in Paris in 1904. Although France hosted him until his death and his fame extended beyond national borders, the artist never obtained French citizenship. The exhibition will trace Picasso’s aesthetic and political trajectory, illustrating how he shaped his identity while living as an immigrant in challenging circumstances.

The exhibition will therefore provide an opportunity to further explore how this master of twentieth-century art established himself as a foreigner in France and introduced his revolutionary aesthetics.