Musée Picasso-Paris

Housed in the magnificent Hôtel Salé, the museum holds the largest Picasso collection in the world. Most importantly, it is the only public collection that provides a complete panorama of the oeuvre of the prolific artist: paintings of course, but also engravings, ceramics, graphic arts and drawings. It also contains almost all the sculpted work of the artist, a true laboratory for his pictorial art.

Picasso from A to Z

Major pieces from different periods, such as “Self-Portrait” from 1901, which marked the beginning of his Blue Period, or the “Portrait of Dora Maar”, (1937) are presented alongside sculptures, sketches or ceramics. The artist’s oeuvre is associated with a didactic presentation of his creative process. The display alternates a chronological presentation (Blue Period, Cubism …) with thematic rooms (women, the bull…) which makes it possible to translate the creative profusion of this extraordinary artist. A fine illustration of the genius of Picasso: the juxtaposition of portraits of women in three styles made three decades apart.

The museum also showcases its archive via thematic temporary exhibitions. As a whole, the programme encourages contemporary perspectives on the artist.

Masterpiece of baroque architecture

The Hôtel Aubert de Fontenay, known as the Hôtel Salé, is one of the finest examples of baroque architecture in the Marais. It owes his nickname, by the way, to its first owner, a tax farmer charged with collecting the salt tax.

Take advantage of your visit to admire the listed and renovated parts of the building, such as the majestic grand staircase, richly adorned with sculptures. Today, there are 1,600 square meters of exhibition space over five levels. The museum has 22 rooms which offer a true architectural promenade where the visitor discovers both a 17th-century mansion together with the work of Picasso. The furniture, designed specifically for the museum, is by Diego Giacometti.

The museum even occupies the attic, which houses Picasso's personal collection of paintings – rich with tens of thousands of archival documents, including paintings by Matisse, Miró and Braque – in an intimate atmosphere under magnificent wooden beams. Specific confrontations or thematic rooms around primitivism, landscape painting and portraiture guide this display.

Do not miss the vaulted basement where photographs of the painter, by Brassaï and Dora Maar, alternate with emblematic works (“The Acrobat,” “Painter and his Model”…) providing a shortcut through Picasso's entire oeuvre.

In fine weather, you will appreciate a unique view over the beautiful mansion from the lovely terrace of the rooftop Café sur le Toit, located on the first floor.

Also based in the Marais district, discover the Carnavalet museum which traces the history of the French capital and the people of Paris. An outstanding collection !