Paris proudly hosted Picasso for decades. But two controversies around the artist’s legacy are now haunting French officials.
A historic preservation panel is meeting on Tuesday to decide the fate of a Left Bank studio where Picasso lived and worked for 19 years, and painted his famed anti-war opus “Guernica” in 1937.
A legal group has owned the 17 century manor containing the studio since before Picasso worked there, and now wants to renovate it. One reported scenario would see it converted into a luxury hotel.
Some high-profile art lovers say the studio deserves state protection from re-development. The panel meeting on Tuesday may put in on a national register of historic sites.
Separately, Picasso’s son has clashed with the Culture Ministry over delays to the re-opening of the Paris Picasso Museum.
AP adds further:
The director of the Paris Picasso Museum has been dismissed amid lagging renovations and accusations of mismanagement.
The museum said that Anne Baldassari’s departure on Tuesday came after a meeting with the country’s culture minister.
Renovations at the museum have dragged for five years amid accusations of mismanagement, labour problems and clashes between the artist’s family and the French government. The reopening has now been pushed back until September after the summer tourist season.
Claude Picasso, the painter’s son, lashed out this month, saying he had the impression France “doesn’t care” about him or his father.
