The Picasso Celebration 1973-2023 registered more than three million visitors in the 46 national and international exhibitions that have taken place, according to data from the Ministry of Culture. The initiative, promoted by the Spanish and French governments, pays tribute to the artist on the 50th anniversary of his death. The program, whose official opening took place in September 2022 with a ceremony presided over by the King and Queen of Spain at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, kicked off in June 2022 with Picasso-El Greco at the Kunstmuseum Basel.
Since then, 17 exhibitions have opened in Spain and 49 parallel activities have attracted more than 1.5 million visitors. Throughout the commemoration, lesser-known aspects of Picasso's work were explored, such as his facet as a sculptor with projects at the Mapfre Foundation and his work with Julio Gonzalez or that of the Picasso Museum in Malaga.
In addition to the exhibitions held around the figure of the artist, the museums and institutions of Spain also organized multiple and varied activities, from theater and music cycles, to shows, forums, reflection days and conferences that tried to delve a little deeper into the figure of the artist.
Likewise, the Picasso Celebration goes beyond Spain's borders. In the course of this year of Celebration Picasso 1973-2023, the public has had the opportunity to delve into the artist's career in 29 other exhibitions in Europe and the United States, which have captivated nearly 1.5 million visitors, where the largest number of exhibitions has been registered, after Spain and France.
Although 2023 is coming to an end soon, the 1973-2023 Picasso Celebration continues with seven projects open to the public.
open to the public. Thus, the public will be able to visit Picasso. Sin Título at La Casa Encendida, in Madrid, until early January 2024; Picasso escultor. Matter and Body at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Picasso. The Sacred and the Profane at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, in Madrid, which will remain open until January 2024.
There will also be Miró-Picasso, a joint action of the Museu Picasso Barcelona and the Fundació Joan Miró, which is open until January 2024.
Joan Miró, which is open until February 2024, along with other exhibitions such as Picasso on the retina; Portraits of Catalan artists at the Fundació Palau, in Caldes d'Estrac, and Diego Velázquez invites Pablo Picasso... Carmen Calvo, at Casa de Velázquez, in Madrid; The echo of Picasso, organized by the Museo Picasso Málaga and Picasso 1906: the great transformation at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, can be visited until March 2024.