Previously, when exhibitions shown at Museo Picasso Málaga toured to European cities – as with Picasso at Work. Through the Lens of David Douglas Duncan and Giacometti. A Retrospective – it has been the result of collaborations with sundry European institutions. But this is the first time one of Museo Picasso Málaga’s major home-grown exhibitions has aroused so much interest in Germany, thanks to the novel idea of investigating the relationship between Picasso’s work and German art. Curated by José Lebrero Stals, the artistic director of the museum, Picasso. German Records can be seen at MPM until 21st February, after which it will travel to Germany to be shown from 6th April to 18th September at the Kunsthalle Würth, in the town of Schwäbisch Hall. This new version of the exhibition will include major works from the Wurth Collection, one of the most important private collections in Central Europe.

Picasso. German Records has clearly opened up an important new avenue in Germany, too, as it examines from different angles the links, affiliations and divergences between Pablo Picasso and a select group of German artists who are now considered Modern classics, and who radically changed the direction of art history. Recently, the influential German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published a highly favourable review of the exhibition, mentioning particularly the “impressive number of works, paintings, engravings and sculptures on display, myriad documents, and emphasis on European Modern Artists”, as well as the fact that “German works have not in any way been sacrificed in favour of the cult genius, Picasso. Quite the opposite, they are presented as equals”. At the German institution’s request, MPM will publish a German edition of the profusely illustrated accompanying book, with contributions from renowned experts on the multiple connections between Pablo Picasso and German art and thought of the time.

In 2008, Museo Picasso Málaga inaugurated the exhibition Beyond Painting. Max Ernst in the Würth Collection, comprising works from the Würth Collection, one of the largest collections in Europe with over 17,000 artworks. The first Museum Würth opened in Künzelsau (Germany) in 1991. Prior to this, in 1989, the Hirschwirtscheuer had already been set up to show small-format works from the collection and works by local artists. In 2001, the Kunsthalle Würth opened, followed in 2008 by the Johanniterkirche, both located in the town of Schwäbisch Hall. Today, the Würth collection runs fifteen galleries in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the Rioja region of Spain.