A man in no need of introduction. The Albertina dedicates an exhibition to Pablo Picasso on the 50th anniversary of his death.
- Over 70 works to admire
- Covers his key creative phases
- Runs March 17 – June 18, 2023
- Book an Albertina ticket* online
- See also:
- Albertina overview & info
- Art exhibitions in Vienna
50 years later
(Pablo Picasso, Mediterranean Landscape, 1952, oil on Isorel; press photo courtesy of ALBERTINA, Wien – Sammlung Batliner © Succession Picasso/ Bildrecht Wien, 2023)
On April 9th, 1973 (a day after Picasso died in France aged 91), an editorial in the Guardian newspaper described him as the last Renaissance man. The piece noted that…
…the world would look different had his cradle not rocked in Barcelona twenty years before the new century dawned
Fifty years on seems a poignant moment for the Albertina to pay commemorative tribute to this genius in the form of its Picasso exhibition.
This is the museum’s first significant Picasso-related event since 2010’s Peace and Freedom exhibition: a cooperation with Tate Liverpool that looked at how the artist dealt with the theme of conflict and peace across the years of the cold war.
(Pablo Picasso, Dove in Flight, 1950, lithograph; Kreide und Tuschstift auf Zink auf Vélin-Papier d’Arches; press photo courtesy ALBERTINA, Wien © Succession Picasso/ Bildrecht Wien, 2023)
Expect over 70 works, including 18 paintings from the museum’s own archives. (Their collection covers over six decades of Picasso’s output and includes numerous prints, ceramic pieces, and other media: from the 1900 Au café drawing to 1967’s Naked Woman with Bird and Flute Player painting).
The selection on display in the exhibition includes highlights from key phases of Picasso’s career; I’ll add details once I’ve had the chance to visit.
Dates, tickets & tips
Take a journey through Picasso’s career from March 17th to June 18th, 2023. An entrance ticket for the Albertina from any valid source includes access to all the exhibitions within.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
You’ll likely find more art from Picasso in the Albertina’s permanent exhibition. And some genuinely Renaissance artists in their concurrent Bruegel and his Time exhibition of drawings from 16th-century Netherlands (ends provisionally on May 24th).
For much of the same period, the museum also has, for example, a solo exhibition for Alex Katz. In a 2018 interview in the New Yorker magazine, Katz stated that when he began to paint his wife, Ada:
I was influenced by Picasso’s Dora Maar.
After the Albertina, consider a trip to the Leopold Museum for the Amazing exhibition (provisionally from April 5th), which features notable works from the Würth collection and includes several by Picasso.
How to get to the Picassos
Just follow the tips at the bottom of the main Albertina page.
Address: Albertinaplatz 1, 1010 Vienna