French authorities are trying to make peace with the son of Pablo Picasso after he accused them of dishonouring his father by delaying the reopening of the Picasso Museum in Paris.
The refurbished 17th century mansion housing the collection had been due to reopen in June after a five-year, 52 million euro ($72 million) refurbishment. But the Culture Ministry said now that it would not open until mid September, missing the tourist season’s summer peak.
“I am outraged and deeply concerned,” Claude Picasso, said the 66-year-old son of the painter, who is seen as one of 20th century’s most influential artists.
“I get the impression that France couldn’t give a damn about my father or me,” he said in an interview published on Friday, just before the Culture Ministry confirmed in a statement its decision to wait until September.
Inaugurated in 1985, the Picasso Museum includes nearly 300 paintings including Self Portrait from his early Blue period through to Matador and others completed in the years before his 1973 death. It also includes 250 sculptures, relief paintings and other works.
“What possible interest could the Culture Ministry have in hindering the reopening and functioning of one of the country’s most popular museums?” the ministry said. “The Ministry appeals to everyone to put their own personal interests to one side and share the enthusiasm and calm required to complete this project,” it added.
Addressing widespread incredulity in arts circles over previous official explanations that the delay was partly needed to recruit new guards, the statement also announced the creation of 40 new jobs “despite the tough budgetary climate.”
The office of Prime Minister Manuel Valls could not immediately be reached to confirm a Le Monde report that Valls would receive Claude Picasso on Monday.
However, the news daily noted that if anyone could calm the enraged Picasso heir down, it would be Valls, who himself is the son of a Spanish painter who emigrated to France.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2014.
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