The History of a Donation

The journal that Lluís Maria Llubià kept of all his duties as head of the ceramics collection at Museus d’Art de Barcelona - Activities of a Ceramologist - has made it possible for us to document this history. With the wit and spontaneity of somebody writing notes in a personal diary, he describes the entire process of securing the donation of Picasso's works. 

His visit to Cannes for the 1957 exhibition enabled him to visit Picasso in his workshop, where the artist generously offered him a pick of some pieces to take back to the museum. After this visit, Llubià left with a donation commitment, and saw an opportunity to introduce a new museographical approach and to provide a new space for the collections. This is why he suggested that Picasso should write a handwritten note asking for his works to be exhibited alongside those of the museum’s ceramic collections within six months.

The long-awaited exhibition opened at the Museum of Modern Art in Ciutadella on 30 July 1957. The works donated by Picasso could be admired for the first time, together with an excellent selection of historical Spanish ceramics, under the title A Selection of Decorative Ceramics from the Museus d’Art de Barcelona. From the 13th Century to the Present Day.