Donación Pablo Picasso, 1970 Museu Picasso, Barcelona. MPB 110.109
© Museu Picasso, Barcelona / Gasull
© Sucesión Pablo Picasso, VEGAP, Madrid, 2023
Not everyone knows that Pablo Ruiz Picasso, one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century, spent a very important stage of his life in the Galician city of A Coruña. He lived there from 1891 to 1895, important years, where he began to draw.
What was the Picasso of A Coruña like?
In 1891 Pablo Ruiz Picasso, at the age of 9, moved with his family to A Coruña, where his father worked as a teacher at the School of Fine Arts. It was in this same school where the young Picasso perfected his extraordinary ability as a draftsman. In addition, it was there that he began as a painter and held his first exhibition. On a personal level, it was there that he experienced his first love, although he also suffered the death of his little sister, an event that marked his life forever.
Places in the city related to his personal life
The Picasso House Museum is one of the most relevant places. On the second floor is installed the residence where Picasso lived with his family, being able to go through the feeling of entering the atmosphere of a typical house of the city of the late nineteenth century, as it preserves original furniture and objects, reproductions of the work of Picasso and an original engraving of the artist.
The Praza de Pontevedra, site of the Instituto Eusebio de Guarda, an educational center where Picasso enrolled at the age of 10 and where he attended the School of Fine Arts, a place where today, the painter's excellent qualifications are preserved.
More interesting places?
In 1895, Picasso held his first exhibition at number 20, Rúa Real, where at that time there was a furniture store. Later he organized a second exhibition also in that street and presented "The Man with the Cap", a painting that today is kept in the Picasso Museum in Paris.
Other places related to Picasso are the Rosalía de Castro Theater, where Picasso attended theatrical performances and painted genre scenes such as "El décimo de la lotería" and "Caballero saludando a la dama" (Gentleman greeting the lady). And, of course, the cemetery of Santo Amaro, one of the most beautiful historical cemeteries in Spain and part of the European Cemeteries Route.
Two of the emblems of A Coruña with Picasso's eyes
On the one hand, the famous Riazor beach, where Picasso enjoyed children's games and on the other, the Tower of Hercules, undoubtedly the most famous point of the whole city, being the oldest lighthouse in the world and the only one still in service.
Take a look at the "Picasso Route" through the city where the artist lived with his family from 1891 to 1895.
For complete information: https://www.spain.info/es/descubrir-espana/ruta-picasso-coruna/