Picasso, exhibition closes in Milan with 115,000 visitors and moves to Rome

On Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, the Picasso the Stranger exhibition at Milan’s Palazzo Reale closed with a resounding success. In 131 days of opening, the exhibition attracted 115,000 visitors, offering a never-before-seen journey into Pablo Picasso’s life in 20th-century France through the eyes of historian and curator Annie Cohen-Solal(our review here). The narrative, enriched by more than 90 works and documents of the Spanish master, allowed the audience to discover the lesser-known side of the celebrated artist, highlighting his status as a “foreigner” in the French society of the time.

Promoted by the Municipality of Milan - Culture and produced by Palazzo Reale and Marsilio Arte, the exhibition involved a wide audience, welcoming 1,491 groups, of which 931 consisted of adults and 560 of school groups from all over Italy. In addition to guided tours, the event hosted more than 20 private appointments, confirming the great interest in the exhibition project.

Supporting the initiative were numerous partners, including Unipol Gruppo as main sponsor and BPER Banca as sponsor. After the success of the Milan stop, the exhibition continues its journey and will land in Rome, at the Museo del Corso - Polo museale, where it will open to the public on February 27, 2025 with an installation enriched by a nucleus of unpublished works selected especially for this new exhibition.

The arrival of the exhibition in Rome: an expanded itinerary and new works

The Roman edition of Picasso the Stranger, organized by the Fondazione Roma in collaboration with Marsilio Arte, will run through June 29, 2025, and will involve major international museum institutions. Major lenders include the Musée national Picasso-Paris (MNPP), the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris, the Museu Picasso Barcelona, the Musée Picasso in Antibes, and the Musée Magnelli - Musée de la céramique in Vallauris. These are joined by prestigious European private collections, which will help enrich the exhibition itinerary.

The installation of the exhibition at the Museo del Corso - Museum Pole will be curated by Annie Cohen-Solal, with a talk by Johan Popelard of the MNPP. This new stage will present more than 100 works by Picasso, flanked by historical documents, letters, photographs and films, offering further insight into the figure of the artist and the historical and cultural context in which he lived and worked.

One of the most eagerly awaited sections of the Roman exhibition will be the one dedicated to the spring of 1917, a period that Picasso spent in Rome in the company of such leading artistic figures as Jean Cocteau, Erik Satie, Serge de Diaghilev and Leonid Massine. It was a crucial moment in the life of the Spanish master, who found in the Italian capital new inspirations and artistic collaborations that were decisive for his stylistic evolution.

Once again, the exhibition project will be supported by BPER Banca as a sponsor. Accompanying the exhibition will be a catalog published by Marsilio Arte, which will offer an additional tool for the public to learn more. After Milan and Rome, the exhibition’s itinerary will continue in other Italian and European exhibition venues, confirming Picasso the Foreigner as one of the most significant cultural events of 2025.

Picasso, exhibition closes in Milan with 115,000 visitors and moves to Rome

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