Picasso in Malaga: Explore The Artist’s Birthplace, Malaga, Spain

Málaga is a place for art lovers. Not just because of the light, the colours, the narrow streets and the historic buildings, but also because of the many art galleries. And because it was the birthplace of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century - Pablo Picasso. I set out to see what I could find of Picasso in Málaga, in search of his early life and the city that shaped him.

Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Málaga in 1881. The family lived in an apartment close to the Plaza de la Merced, a large square in the heart of the old town. His father worked as an art teacher and a museum curator, and the young Picasso learnt to draw at an early age.

An added benefit for the budding artist was that Málaga was home to a thriving community of local Andalusian painters. It was also a place with a multi-layered past - a modern port city with Phoenician, Roman and Moorish foundations. An openness to a wide variety of influences would become one of Picasso’s defining traits.

Although he left Málaga at the age of ten, Picasso never forgot his native city. The bullfights, the Mediterranean light, the religious processions, and the atmosphere of the old streets all fed into his imagination. Even decades later, when he was living in France, he would recall his early years in Málaga and their role in shaping his artistic identity. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).