Málaga, (EFE).- The Museo Picasso Málaga commemorated this Saturday the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death with the release of a dove to remember his commitment to peace and his opposition to war.
A white dove, a symbol of peace known thanks to the work of Picasso, has taken flight shortly after dawn from the heart of the building, the courtyard of the Palacio de Buenavista.
The artistic director of the art gallery, José Lebrero, affirms that the Museo Picasso Málaga celebrates the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death “remembering his commitment to peace and his will that art serve for dialogue and reconciliation”.
The Museo Picasso Málaga (MPM) has focused on this facet of the life of the painter from Málaga because “war conflicts are sadly current in the world with the consequent loss of human lives and forced migrations”, as reported it’s a statement.
Picasso consolidates the dove as a symbol of peace
Born in Malaga in 1881, and died in the French town of Mougins on April 8, 1973, Pablo Picasso was the artist who in the 20th century definitively consolidated the dove as the universal symbol of peace, and “believed that art could play a crucial role in making the world aware of the violence and injustice that wars cause”, he recalled.
Throughout his life, some of the bloodiest conflicts in history took place in the world: the First and Second World Wars, the Spanish Civil War, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
The warmongering barbarity was reflected in significant works by the artist such as the series of drawings on the First World War and the painting Massacre in Korea that will be included in an autumn exhibition at the Museo Picasso Málaga, or one of his most emblematic works: El Guernica.
The Museo Picasso Málaga turns 20 in 2023, with close to nine million visitors, and is entering the maturity of its trajectory “looking to the future”, to face a “new stage of greater projection and innovation”.
Picasso’s birth house
The museum has been “a shock” in the museology of Andalusia and has been key to leading the transformation of his city into a cultural destination, he stressed.
Recently, the Museo Picasso Málaga convenes an international competition for the position of art director of the art gallery, in which it will replace José Lebrero on January 1, 2024, who has held this position since October 2009.
In the city of Malaga, the Casa Natal de Picasso is also commemorating this weekend the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death with an open house and special guided tours.
In addition, other spaces in the capital have joined the tribute, such as the La Concepción Historical Botanical Garden, which has chosen the bluebell as its plant for the month of April, “remembering the blue period of the painter.” EFE