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It’s no surprise to any art lover that Barcelona was the home of Pablo Picasso during his formative years. You will no doubt have visited the Picasso Museum and seen the evolution of his work. From now on, you get closer to the artist by staying in the luxury hotel located in the same building as his first studio.
Today, the building that housed Picasso’s first studio is one of Barcelona’s most exquisite luxuries … [+]
Image courtesy of The Serras Hotel
Picasso’s Barcelona
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Malaga in 1881, and in 1895 he and his family moved to Barcelona. The same year, at age 14, he was accepted to study at the Barcelona School of Fine Arts. Working from the roof of the Passeig d’Isabel II building where his family lived, Picasso produced his first painting in Barcelona: Roof of Cases d’En Xifré (1895).
The following year, the family moved to a larger apartment, and Pablo’s father rented a studio for his son, who was still only 14 years old. He shared the space at number 4, Carrer de la Plata (Rue d’Argent) with Manuel Pallarès, a friend he had met at the Academy of Fine Arts. It is here, in this attic studio on the top floor that Picasso painted several of his early works, the most famous of which is Science and Charity (1897), now exhibited at the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.
In Picasso’s time, Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter wasn’t the most glamorous of places
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From the humble artist’s studio to the luxury hotel
In Picasso’s time, this six-story building wasn’t the most glamorous of settings, but things have certainly changed. Today, the building that housed the prodigious artist’s first studio has been transformed into one of Barcelona’s most exclusive boutique hotels, The Serras.
Le Serras offers everything you would expect from an upscale boutique hotel, and more.
Image courtesy of The Serras Hotel.
Serras hotel
Located in the middle of Barcelona’s vibrant Gothic Quarter, The Serras offers everything you would expect from an upscale boutique hotel, and more. Although it is hidden from view on one of the city’s busiest thoroughfares, a sense of peace and tranquility overwhelms you as soon as you walk through the door. The rooms are exquisite, the beds are to die for, the service impeccable, and the superb cuisine at the informal restaurant of Michelin-starred local chef Marc Gascons is among the best in town. Finally, just before stepping out onto the spectacular rooftop terrace, a giant portrait of Pablo Picasso alludes to the building’s illustrious past.
A print of Science and Charity exhibited in the library of The Serras.
Image courtesy of The Serras Hotel
Science and Charity
In 1897, Picasso painted Science and charity in the attic of Carrer de la Plata 4. The work, a large canvas, was shown at the Fine Arts Exhibition in Madrid and in 1970 the artist donated it to the city of Barcelona. In 2017, the Picasso Museum in Barcelona launched a conservation project — with the support of The Serras hotel — to implement cutting-edge technology to control the temperature and humidity of the recently restored building. Science and Charity.
“Knowing that I have been able to help maintain such an important legacy gives me great satisfaction. Picasso had his first workshop where I built one of my dreams. Finding out was a gift. And my way of understanding life and business has always been with gratitude, ”commented Jordi Serra, owner of The Serras.
Emanuelle Guigon, director of the Picasso museum, Jordi Serra, owner of Serras, and chef Marc Gascons … [+]
Photo: FERRAN NADEU. Image courtesy of The Serras Hotel.
“Barcelona, the beautiful”
In the early 1900s, Picasso traveled back and forth between Spain and France before finally settling in Paris in 1904. However, Barcelona has always had a special place in his heart. As he said himself, in 1936: “Barcelona, the beautiful and the wise, where I left so many things hanging on the altar of happiness…”.
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