European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 26, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Museum Picasso museum opens in by Marilyn August associated press after More 10 Vars of Bureau c on fusion and architect head i lies i he i Asso museum opened ils doors monday in .1 preview or government officials and visiting Art dignitaries from around the w wild. President ois presided Over the ceremonies it the museum restored 17th can Lucy Villa in Paris Rii it Bank where tin writer Honore Hal at studied. Pablo pit , r regarded by Many experts As the 20th Century. Or test artist died in 1973. Mul of the 800 works displayed in the 329-y ear old hotel Siili ilm of .1 la silted history a i Monument were Given to the state a Pir o s heirs in lieu of e taxes while the my Eurn a ill not open to the Public until this , t Ouille a museum direct tors curators private collectors and journalists have poured in i rum Oil Over the world to preview the. To million franc $9 million installation. Most like what they see. A triumphant inauguration whole Pierre cahanne., Del e Rit it for the daily if which devoted three full pages to the mils mini. A near i v total sin t Ess. Nearly Bee Ause the arc Hite to the sole dec Ision maker paid too runt h attention to details. The Multi lit at Ion of passage ways nooks and r armies and the ext Eive whiteness of the but went on to Praise Iho museum s arrangement of Santl its i thin system .1 Subtle Nie Anie of trac k ind Wall i Hlin that combines Wilh natural it he to accentuate the color and Brushwork of la. 20j painting on display. Another Triumph he wrote is the simple but elegant Iron and Bronze chandeliers designed by Diego Cid Ominetti the exotic furniture and tote Iii designer who died earlier this year. Built in 1656 by a wealthy collector of Salt taxes the Motel Sale is famous for its wide Central staircase wrought Iron Banister and sculptured ceilings. But in 1974, when the French government designated Ilas the future Home of Picasso s Picasso it was in shambles. Transforming the elegant Villa into a modern museum equipped with adequate exhibition space elevators Healing and air c conditioning and administrative and storage fat Liles was a major accomplishment. Some Art world observers predicted the project t would never come to fruition. The historic building for example needed .1 new roof but its original Structure had to be preserved. Exhibition Halls needed advanced temperature and humidity controls hut laying pipes behind ornate Wood working on Wall panels and ceilings was out of the question. Politics and Legal hassles also contributed to delays. Government Art Hite to named by five different culture ministers under two presidents were in constant dising Keement. When the socialists took office in 1981, renovations slowed to a Snail s Pate and the construe Tion site Bee Arne a temporary Home for squatters and tramps Bais and stray cats. Neither the City nor the government took responsibility. But Mitterrand vowed to see the project through. Critics Call the Muse urn s t collection which is Arra gtd chronologically a stunning tribute to Picasso s unparalleled versatility and artistic production. Visitors to the t hotel Sale located in the Matais District which is one of the City s oldest neighbor floods traverse a Large Cobblestone t ourt Ard before entering the three Story Structure. The Sugges Teci itinerary starts on the second floor with Picasso s Blue self portrait pain Tec in Paris in 1901, and ends on the ground level with works Picasso painted just before his death. Also representative of the Blue period tie p a trait / / or Norand uss a. Months later Picasso would plunge into Cubi in his sad Melancholic is Tadman into hard angles and austerity. And Situ e t lies in the paintings Pur o kept for hims to it is no Surprise to and Portia i of the women he and whose children he faltered hib widow Jai Queline the dark haired Beauty who Uii sued hundreds of Young Painter Gilot who lived with Picasso for 10 , the sensual Marie Thi i i Whoso shapely curves inspired some of his he a sculpture the cerebral but anxiety Ridden Maar and the russian born Olga angry and threatening As she saw him slip away from her everything one one needs to understand Picasso is there said Dominique boo the museum s curator who selected and arranged the works on display. Many of the1 exhibition rooms Are Small with Low ceilings. "the1 Art Hite t Roland Simounet respected the original volume of each Ito of said adding that Picasso probably would have tilt it Homo there since they were about the1 same sir As his own studios. A Hile Picasso painting is Well known to museum and Galler v goers throughout the we id less is known about his s Ulp Ture and be Carrm production. The museum displays Iso sculptures some set in the behind the museum in the Lelir with its vaulted Stone Wilmis and sort Candle like in Ling. Visitors have a kind of .1 religious exp enem t As they follow the narrow passages into i no nooks and t grannies w her e of Loralu c a rarity , dishes and statues wait behind Glass cases set into the Stone. Also on display Are works by other artists in Picasso s private to Lection Henri Matisse Eorms Braque Baltius Paul be Anne Auguste Renoir Anil Idgar i Gas. The museum will be open daily except tuesday 10 . To 5 15 . Admission is 16 franc s about $2 september 26, 7985 stripes Magazine 77
