8 must-see exhibitions to celebrate Picasso in 2023

New perspectives

Cultural Heritage

La Cassette Bleue / Adobe Stock
© La Cassette Bleue / Adobe Stock

Reading time: 0 minPublished on 10 October 2023

From paintings, drawings to ceramics, Pablo Picasso left his mark with his art in the 20th century and beyond. After 50 years following his death, fifty exhibitions are planned in France this year and around the world to celebrate his work and his immense artistic legacy. Contemporary views, dialogues with artists of his time and several great figures of art history, an overview of the festivities will be scheduled in museums across France in 2023.

"Gertrude Stein and Pable Picasso. The invention of language" at the Musée du Luxembourg

Daniel Thierry / Paris Tourist Office
© Daniel Thierry / Paris Tourist Office

*From September 13, 2023 to January 21, 2024

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Picasso's death, the Musée du Luxembourg pays tribute to one of his most faithful friends and admirers: Gertrude Stein, a collector of modern art, including several masterpieces by the master of Cubism such as Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. The paintings of the Spanish painter seem to dialogue with poems of the American writer in a staging of their special relationship. The exhibition also explores the links between the poetess and several avant-garde figures such as Henri Matisse and Jean Cocteau, while exposing the influence of Picasso's work on several figures of the Pop Art movement such as Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg.

Visit the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris

"Picasso. 2023 drawings" at the Centre Pompidou

Daniel Thierry / Paris Tourist Office
© Daniel Thierry / Paris Tourist Office

*From October 18, 2023 to January 22, 2024

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Picasso's death, the Centre Pompidou retraces his work through more than 2,000 recognized and unpublished drawings and prints from the artist's studios. With its serpentine lines, cross-hatched drawings and pastel shades, the exhibition reveals the creative genius and behind-the-scenes of his greatest masterpieces in the manner of a personal diary. Precious treasures to be admired in the fall of 2023.

Visit the Centre Pompidou in Paris

"Le Paris des modernes 1905 - 1925 (Modern Paris)" at the Petit Palais

Musée national Picasso
© Musée national Picasso

From October 17, 2023 to April 28, 2024

From the 1905 Salon d'Automne marked by the scandal of the "Fauvist" artists to the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, the first third of the 20th century was marked by profound cultural upheavals. Photography, painting, sculpture, design, fashion, cinema or architecture, Paris is the scene of new artistic experiments attracting many talents. 50 years after the death of Picasso, a disruptive artist, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris highlights the todays artisans.

Visit the Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris

"Picasso and Prehistory" at the The Musée de l'Homme

RMN - Grand Palais - Mathieu Rabeau / Succession Picasso 2023
© RMN - Grand Palais - Mathieu Rabeau / Succession Picasso 2023

*From February 8 to June 12, 2023 *

Paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramics and engraved pebbles. A stone's throw from the Trocadero, the Musée de l'Homme highlights the influence of cave art in Picasso's work. An artistic dialogue between the artist's work and prehistoric artifacts, some of which were discovered in the early 20th century, such as cave paintings, rock engravings, megalithic sites, pieces of furniture and other Paleolithic Venus.

Visit The Musée de l'Homme in Paris

"Celebrating Picasso, the collection takes on colors!" at the Musée national Picasso-Paris

Musée Picasso Paris / Paul Smith
© Musée Picasso Paris / Paul Smith

*From March 7 to August 6, 2023

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso's death, the Musée national Picasso-Paris offers a rediscovery of its permanent collection with a new look. Musuem masterpieces, works of contemporary artists such as Guillermo Kuitca, Obi Okigbo, Mickalene Thomas or Chéri Samba will be hung from spring at the Hotel Salé. An exhibition event staged by the British designer Paul Smith inviting the public to revisit the most emblematic moments and subjects of Picasso's work by questioning the posterity of his work.

In the fall, another contemporary vision of Picasso's legacy will be offered by conceptual artist and photographer Sophie Calle.

Visit the the Musée National Picasso-Paris

"Picasso 1969-1972: The ends' beginning" at the Picasso Museum in Antibes

Georges Veran / CRT Côte d'Azur
© Georges Veran / CRT Côte d'Azur

*April 8 to June 25, 2023

If the work of Pablo Picasso is anything to go by, creativity has no limits nor age. The last twenty years of the artist's life were marked by an intense production, sometimes described as exuberant. Bright colors, large formats, renewal of his favorite characters such as the bullfighters and musketeers, the painter multiplies the new artistic experiments delivering as many messages as possible to posterity. Masterpieces to be discovered in spring 2023 at the Picasso Museum in Antibes, on the occasion of the celebrations around the fiftieth anniversary of the artist's death.

Visit the Picasso Museum in Antibes, on the French Riviera

"Shapes and metamorphoses: the ceramic creation of Picasso" at the Magnelli Museum, Museum of Ceramics

Succession Picasso 2023  —  Pablo Picasso, Homme en costume, 1953.
© Succession Picasso 2023 — Pablo Picasso, Homme en costume, 1953.

*From May 6 to October 30, 2023

Picasso's genius mind is not limited to painting. In Vallauris, on the French Riviera, where the artist lived from 1948 to 1955, the Magnelli Museum houses a rich collection of ceramic objects produced by the artist in his Madoura workshop. Part of this prolific work is to be discovered throughout the summer season as part of the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Picasso, which the Museum of Ceramics Vallauris will participate in. A series of festivities are also planned in the town of Vallauris Golfe-Juan May 6 and 7, 2023 during the opening of the exhibition.

Visit the Magnelli Museum, Museum of Ceramics in Vallauris, on the French Riviera

"Goya in the eye of Picasso" at the Goya Museum in Castres

Christian Rivière / Tarn tourisme
© Christian Rivière / Tarn tourisme

*From June 30 to October 1, 2023

A museum of Hispanic art, the Goya Museum in Castres, in Occitania, pays tribute to Picasso by revealing the close links between his work and that of Goya. The two Iberian painters, although they lived in different times, share many themes such as bullfighting and the satire of war.
Between drawings, engravings, lithographs and photographs, visitors discover the leading role played by Goya in Picasso's work.

Visit the Goya Museum - Museum of Hispanic Art in Castres, in Occitania

By Kévin Bonnaud