Musée Picasso

Musée Picasso Review

Next door to the cathedral, the famed Musée Picasso rises high over the water in its stunning home, the medieval Château Grimaldi. Famed as rulers of Monaco, the Grimaldi family lived here until the Revolution; this fine old castle, however, was little more than a monument until its curator offered use of its chambers to Picasso in 1946, when that extraordinary genius was enjoying a period of intense creative energy. The result was a bounty of exhilarating paintings, ceramics, and lithographs inspired by the sea and by Greek mythology—all very Mediterranean. The château, which became the Musée Picasso in 1966, houses some 245 works by the artist, as well as pieces by Miró, Calder, and Léger; the first floor displays more than 100 paintings of Russian-born artist Nicholas de Staël. Even those who are not great Picasso fans should enjoy his vast paintings on wood, canvas, paper, and walls, alive with nymphs, fauns, and centaurs.