culture

images: Getty; alamy; awl images

MÁLAGA, ANDALUCIA

Picasso remained nostalgic for his birthplace, the Andalucian port city of Málaga, throughout his career— drawing influence from its Moorish architecture and flamenco traditions. Start at the Picasso Birthplace Museum, where you can see some of his earliest sketches. The city’ s Picassian Route, a self-guided walking tour of 18 sites, includes the old School of Fine Arts where Picasso’ s father taught and the Museo Picasso Málaga, which exhibits 230 original works.

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CORUÑA, GALICIA

Picasso was just nine years old when his family relocated across the country to Galicia. Their apartment in A Coruña is now the Picasso House Museum, offering visitors a glimpse into 19th-century Spanish life through its meticulously recreated interiors. Other sights include the Eusebio da Guarda Secondary School where Picasso studied, and 20 Rúa Real— a former furniture shop where he first publicly exhibited his work in 1895.

BARCELONA

, CATALONIA

Picasso’ s base for a decade, Barcelona is where he came of age as an artist. Retrace his steps through the bohemian El Raval and El Born districts, where he was first exposed to Catalan Modernism and the ideals of experimentation, liberalism and artistic freedom. At Els Quatre Gats cafe, enjoy a meal within the same four walls where he held his debut solo show in February 1900, then head to the Museu Picasso, the first museum wholly dedicated to his work.

Three more: picasso sites

Paris It was from his Montmartre studio that Picasso, alongside French artist Georges Braque, laid the foundations for Cubism in 1907. View the world’ s largest public collection of Picasso’ s works and personal archives( some 5,000 objects) at the Musée National Picasso-Paris.

New York New York played a critical role in introducing Picasso to the world. Landmark Cubist canvases including Les Demoiselles d’ Avignon are held by MoMA— the first American museum to collect and champion his art— while the Met exhibits earlier paintings from the Rose Period.

Antibes Picasso lived and worked on the French Riviera from the late 1940s until his death in 1973. The exuberant La Joie de Vivre is one of 200 works displayed at the Musée Picasso inside the Château Grimaldi, his one-time studio. Also visit Vallauris, where he experimented with ceramics, and Vauvenargues Château, his final resting place.

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