Picasso Birthplace Museum, Malaga

The Picasso Birthplace Museum occupies the modest 19th-century building on Merced Square where Pablo Picasso was born in 1881 and spent his earliest years. The house was erected in 1861, and Picasso’s father, José Ruiz Blasco, rented the first-floor apartment between 1880 and 1883. The interior reflects the everyday setting of a middle-class household in late-19th-century Málaga.

The building was declared a Historic-Artistic Monument of National Interest in 1983 and later taken over by the Picasso Foundation. After restoration, it officially reopened in 1998, with the King and Queen of Spain in attendance.

Inside, the museum is organised across several levels. Upon entering, turn left to reach the ground-floor exhibition hall, which presents objects from Picasso’s early family life alongside works by both Picasso and his father. Ruiz Blasco, a painter and art teacher, played a decisive role in his son’s first artistic training. One of the highlights is a sketchbook—the only one of its kind in Spain—containing preparatory studies for "The Ladies of Avignon''. It marks a pivotal moment when Picasso began his path toward modern art. You can explore the entire album page by page on a digital screen.

Climbing the stairs to the first floor, you will find Room 6, where a display case holds intimate childhood items, including Picasso’s umbilical sash, his baptismal garment, and the lead figurines he played with in this very building. Nearby, Room 9 exhibits an exact replica of the Spanish cape gifted to him by his close friend and barber, Eugenio Arias—a garment so meaningful that Picasso chose to be buried in it. A QR code allows visitors to hear a rare recorded interview in which Picasso speaks Spanish and reflects on his longing for his homeland.

The upper level houses the library and Research Centre, with an extensive archive devoted to Picasso and his work. Beyond Picasso’s own prints, ceramics, and graphic pieces, the museum also preserves a wider collection of around 3,500 works by some 200 artists, including Miró, Christo, Bacon, Brossa, Ernst, and Málaga-based artists from the 1950s to the present.