At long last, the beloved Musée Picasso will reopen in Paris in June 2014. It was originally closed in 2009 for a two-year renovation, but work on the 17th century Hôtel Salé, the heritage townhouse in the Marais district in which the museum is housed, has lasted much longer. In fact, the Agence France-Presse reports that the final bill for the five-year project “now stands at 52 million euros ($71 million), 22 million euros more than the original budget due to changes in the scope of the work.”
The collection is one of the most extensive of Pablo Picasso’s work, and the newly expanded space will do it justice by showcasing art that had been sequestered in storage. (Previously only a fraction of the 5,000 artworks could be displayed.) In addition to the permanent collection, the museum will host one major exhibition each year. Annual visitor numbers to the popular museum are expected to rise from 450,000 to 850,000.
Photos courtesy of Paris Tourism Office and the Picasso Museum, ©Béatrice Hatala
Musée Picasso Paris, 5 rue de Thorigny, 75003 Paris. www.museepicassoparis.fr, Tel: +33 1 42 71 25 21
