Picasso sumptuous collection re-opens after 5 years renovation, at the Hotel Sale, rue de Thorigny, in the old Marais, Paris.

Published June 5, 2015

The museum has always had the double appeal of the superb collection, donated to the French state after the artist’s death, and the Marais mansion in which it is housed, built in the 1650s for Pierre Aubert de Fontenay, collector of the gabelle, or salt tax, which gave the building its nickname: Hôtel Salé. The restoration has preserved the modernist white boxes created by the architect Roland Simounet in the original Eighties conversion, with a new entrance at the side through the former servants’ quarters retaining the grand sculpted stairway with its cherubs, garlands and busts of Jupiter and Apollo. Paintings are hung alongside sculptures, prints and drawings. According to the ex-director (or ex-president, to use the French terminology) Anne Baldessari, who created the inaugural hang, this allows one “to put the focus on the work process, the step from drawing to painting and the intensity of the creative process”.

Picasso Museum re-opened in October 2014, after 5 years refurbishment. A stunning collection, donated to the French state after the artist’s death. The Marais mansion in which it is housed, built in the 1650s for Pierre Aubert de Fontenay, collector of the gable, or salt tax, thus, Hôtel Salé. The restoration has maintained the modernist 1980’s approach created by the architect Roland Simounet. The entrance leads onto the grand sculpted stairway with its cherubs, garlands and busts of Jupiter and Apollo.
Paintings are hung alongside sculptures, prints and drawings. The Museum will be closed from June 23rd to prepare for a special exhibition that opens in September 2015. The Picasso museum is in the heart of the Marais, the oldest part of Paris, near the famous Place des Vosges.

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