Almost half a million in Miró – Picasso major exhibition to mark anniversaries

The major exhibition on Catalan painter Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso, who spent some years in Catalonia, will close its doors on Sunday, after over four months on display and almost half a million visitors.

The exhibition is split between Fundació Joan Miró and Museu Picasso, both in Barcelona, and until Friday 461,122 people had visited it – organizers believe 24,000 more people will pop by over the weekend.

The Miró-Picasso exhibition takes visitors from 1917 to a post-World War II landscape through two of the most internationally renowned painters in the 20th century.

On Friday, Spain's culture minister, Ernest Urtasun, visited the site, accompanied by the French ambassador in Spain, Jean Michel Casa, and the French consul in Barcelona, Olivier Ramadour.

"The joint interpretation of both artists discovers new angles on their work that become magic for the audience. Barcelona has the privilege of hosting two unique institutions that have enabled this unique exercise," said minister Urtasun upon his visit.

The show marks the 50th anniversary of Picasso's death, and the 40th anniversary of Miró's passing, both celebrated in 2023. Have a listen to our Filling the Sink podcasts on the cubist painter from Malaga and the all-round artist from Barcelona.

 

 

Unprecedented exhibition with some top works

In a first and unique joint exhibition, Barcelona's Picasso Museum and the Joan Miró Foundation narrate the friendship of both artists through 338 art pieces in two different spaces but in one show, opening from October 20, 2023 to February 25. 

The joint exhibition "celebrates this artistic friendship, but also personal friendship between [Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso], and we have structured the exhibit in seven sections that can be seen in both museums in Barcelona," Sònia Villegas, curator of the show in the Joan Miró Foundation, told Catalan News in October.

The seven sections are divided between both museums but follow a story: The Meeting, Paris Surrealism, Painting and Scripture, The War Years, Painting Ceramics, Picasso's Style and Miró's Language, and finally Miró's Tribute to Picasso. 

Among the 338 art pieces are some which have never been shown before in Barcelona, such as Pablo Picasso's 'The Three Dancers' from 1925, which is normally on display in London's Tate Gallery and now visible in the Joan Miró Foundation. Also, Joan Miró's 'Dona, ocell, estrella' (Tribute to Pablo Picasso) from 1966 to 1973, which is normally in Madrid's Reina Sofia Museum, and now is hanging at the Picasso Museum in the Catalan capital.