Musee Picasso

On my way to Musee Picasso, I happened upon a lovely park. Much photography and a bit of sitting to smell the roses (literally and figuratively) ensued.

'Round the corner and up the block was the museum I'd been planning to visit at Hotel Sale, thus named because it was a mansion originally owned by a man who earned his living collecting salt taxes for the French government.  Apparently, he did pretty well for himself. The museum had been closed for an extensive renovation, but it reopened in October 2014.

I have to say that I almost didn't visit this museum. I went to their website to check out the details, and they have a ridiculously long set of rules posted - more than I've ever seen on a museum website. It honestly turned me off quite a bit, but I decided to give it a go and hope I didn't break some random rule and get thrown out. Newsflash - no international incidents occurred due to my visit.

The ticket was about 9 euros, and the visit took me about 2 1/2 hours total. I will admit to taking several 'rests' close to the air conditioning vents. It was 100 degrees that day! I did not have the audio guide, but the museum map had pretty detailed information about the main pieces in it.

Here are a few pics of the inside of the museum.

The lower floor appeared to be original walls, trim, doors, and flooring, but the upper floors had been extensively reworked. I'm not sure about the staircase, but it was gorgeous. Obviously, I preferred the original home details.

Warning - rant ahead: I didn't take many photos of the art because I really wanted to 'see' it. People, you can see photos of all this stuff online. How about just sitting and contemplating a piece of artwork rather than photographing each one? How about thinking about the details your eyes see rather than only staring through a viewfinder or, God forbid, on an iPad screen? How about letting the art make you feel something instead of robotically clicking at each frame?  Maybe you can tell these habits annoy me. I get it; I used to do it too. Then I realized that the art needed more of my time and attention and focus than mindlessly recording each with a digital click that I'd likely never really look at again. Go online; buy a book; enjoy the actual art in the moment with your physical presence. So speaketh the great Lowder. Hahaha! I know everyone is totally going to listen to me now.

I did photograph just a couple of pieces. I didn't know that Picasso made sculptures. Or 'found art' in abstract forms. Or collage. Or mosaics. This was all new to me.

I'd also forgotten how raw, how sexualized, how violent some of his pieces are. They certainly evoke strong emotions from the viewer.

As I left the museum, I saw this arrangement of photographs of Picasso that I thought were interesting and well-done.

Bottom line? I'm glad I made the trek out to the Picasso Museum during my lengthy stay here in Paris, but I don't think it's a museum that I'd visit again. Generally,  I much prefer works of art created during or prior to the Renaissance. I guess I'm just old-fashioned that way.