Costa del Sol News
The Benalmádena City Council has reached an agreement with the Fracaral Collection to exhibit around 200 works by the brilliant Malaga-born artist Pablo Ruiz Picasso in the municipality for the next 20 years. The collection consists of 196 pieces, including lithographs, engravings, and drawings valued at 470,000 euros, which will be on display for two decades in the municipality, although the Council has not yet disclosed where the artworks will be exhibited. The exhibition covers themes such as mythology, nudity, theater, and bullfighting. The collection includes high-quality reproductions made using lithography, woodcut, screen printing, and pochoir techniques.
The initiative was conceived during an exhibition about Picasso held at the Exhibition Center in early 2024. Since then, the government team led by Juan Antonio Lara (PP) has worked to reach this agreement. The loan agreement for the exhibition of the artworks from the Fracarel collection is entirely free of charge and only stipulates that the artworks must be returned, once the agreed period has ended, in the same condition as they were received.
For this purpose, a group of experts including Picasso specialist Carlos Ferrer, graphic artwork conservation and restoration specialist María José Montañés Garnica, with the advice of José María Luna and coordinated by Antonio Sánchez, have prepared a report that includes a technical sheet for each piece, a detailed study of their conservation status, and an analysis of the relevant documentation for each one.
One of the most notable elements of the collection, according to Dr. Carlos Ferrer, is an original drawing that the artist gifted to Dr. Jean Stehelin. This drawing, made on two different dates (at the end of 1968 and in March 1969), was a gift to the doctor who cared for Picasso in his last years. Picasso dedicated a dozen drawings to the doctor, who was the first to be called when Picasso died on April 8, 1973. However, the doctor himself was already ill and died a few days later, so he could not attend to the artist in his last hours.
The collection includes engravings from two series made between 1968 and 1971: the so-called Suite 347 and Suite 156. These engravings are representative of the artist's style and technique in his final stage. These works are referenced in the Baer and Bloch catalogs. Their importance lies in the number of pieces and the variety, which allows for a fairly expanded overview of the artist's work, with clear potential for enhancing Benalmádena's cultural offerings.
With this acquisition, "Benalmádena positions itself as a premier cultural destination, allowing researchers, collectors, and art lovers from around the world to delve into the work of Picasso and other prominent artists," explained the mayor of Benalmádena.
