AMSTERDAM.- An exhibition devoted to Pablo Ruiz y Picasso’s (1881-1973) spectacular artistic development in Paris, a dazzling cultural centre at the beginning of the 20th century, is being held in the Netherlands for the first time. With more than 70 works of art, including towering masterpieces such as the Self-portrait with a palette and Moulin de la Galette, Picasso in Paris, 1900-1907 outlines how in just a few years Picasso grew from an unknown young artist into the leading figure of the French avant-garde.

The exhibition, curated by renowned Picasso expert Marilyn McCully and organised jointly with the Museo Picasso in Barcelona, presents major loans from private collections and museums, such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The exhibition is on view from 18 February through 29 May 2011 in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam from where it will travel to Barcelona.

All kinds of activities around the theme of Picasso will take place in the Van Gogh Museum, for instance the dance performance Nomade (Nomad) by Krisztina de Châtel on Friday evenings, free Sunday lectures on the first Sunday of the month and a children’s workshop ‘Paint your own Picasso’ in the weekends.

New techniques and themes for the young Picasso
In Paris the young Picasso saw the art of Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec for the first time. Initially, he experimented with new painting and graphic techniques and explored Paris themes, such as Montmartre’s nightlife, in scenes of cafes and women dancing. Later, his interest shifted to more serious and melancholy subjects, such as the circus, people in need and mothers and children.