Lebanon's first Picasso exhibition opens in Beirut

A collection of 20 works spanning over 70 years are on view at the Sursock Museum until 2020

Visitors observe the artwork 'Mother and Children' (1951) by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso displayed at the Sursock Museum in Beirut. Joseph Eid / AFP

Visitors observe 'The Barefoot Girl' (1895), an earlier work by Picasso before the artist moved to Paris and developed Cubism. Joseph Eid / AFP

A visitor at the Picasso et la famille exhibition, which opened on Friday, September 27 in Lebanon's capital. Joseph Eid / AFP

Visitors attend the opening of the exhibition Picasso et la famille (Picasso and the family) at the Sursock Museum. Joseph Eid / AFP

The exhibition is a collboration between Beirut's Sursock Museum and Paris' Picasso-Paris National Museum. The 20 works on display have been selected by the Sursock Museum. Joseph Eid / AFP

Themed Picasso et la famille (Picasso and the family), the show explores the ways Picasso portrayed the concept of family in his work, from mother and child paintings, childhood and his own conceptual reflections on fatherhood. Joseph Eid / AFP

Lebanon launched its first exhibition of late Spanish artist Pablo Picasso's works this month with more than 20 works centered around the theme of family. Joseph Eid / AFP

The exhibition Picasso et la famille, which runs until January 2020, features 20 works by Picasso, ranging from paintings to sculpture. Joseph Eid / AFP

The exhibition is part of the ‘Picasso-Mediterranee’ project, a two-year cultural initiative by the Picasso-Paris National Museum, which started during the spring of 2017. Joseph Eid / AFP

The show has been curated by Camille Frasca from the Picasso-Paris National Museum and Yasmine Chemali from the Sursock Museum. Joseph Eid / AFP

Visitors attend the opening of the exhibition "Picasso et la famille" (Picasso and the family) at the Sursock Museum in the Lebanese capital Beirut. Joseph Eid / AFP

Lebanon’s first exhibition of works by Pablo Picasso opened at the Sursock Museum in Beirut on Friday, September 27.

Themed Picasso et la famille (Picasso and the family), the show explores the ways the Spanish artist portrayed the concept of family in his work, from mother and child paintings, depictions of childhood and his own conceptual reflections on fatherhood.

The result of a collaboration between the Sursock Museum and the Picasso-Paris National Museum, Picasso et la famille features 20 works, ranging from drawings and paintings to etchings and sculptures.

Selected by Sursock Museum specifically for the exhibition, the works date from 1895 to 1972, encompassing a range of different styles, including Picasso’s beginnings in realism to his experimentation in Cubism.

Curators Camille Frasca from the Picasso-Paris National Museum and Yasmine Chemali from the Sursock museum have also incorporated archival material about the artist’s life and career to help contextualise the works for the public.

The exhibition arrives in Lebanon’s capital as part of the Picasso-Mediterranee project, a two-year cultural initiative by the Picasso-Paris National Museum, which started during the spring of 2017. With a programme of over 40 exhibitions across the Mediterranean, including Morocco, Turkey, Italy and Greece, the initiative aims to bring Picasso’s work to the places at inspired him.

Private financing proved to be crucial for the exhibition, which is fully funded by Daniele de Picciotto, the wife of Lebanese-Swiss banker and art collector Edgar de Picciotto.

Free to the public, Picasso et la famille runs until Monday, January 6, 2020.