The Guggenheim Museum will present Young Picasso in Paris, an intimate exhibition comprising a total of 10 paintings and works on paper executed during Pablo Picassos introduction to the French capital. Created over the course of one pivotal year, these works exemplify a period of stylistic experimentation and show his burgeoning mastery of character study. Picasso (b. 1881, Mlaga, Spain; d. 1973, Mougins, France) arrived in Paris from Barcelona in the autumn of 1900, during the final weeks of the Universal Exhibition that included his own art in the Spanish pavilion. The ville lumire, or city of lights, captivated and ultimately transformed the 19-year-old Spaniard. He absorbed everything Paris had to offer over his initial two-month stay and during his return the following May through the end of 1901. Picasso patronized not only the art galleries, but also the bohemian cafs, raucous nightclubs, and sensational dance halls in the hilltop neighborhood of Montmartre. These sites of social gathering and the various types of people who frequented them quickly became a primary source of inspiration. The special exhibit will run from May 12 to Aug. 6. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Picassos death, Young Picasso in Paris will highlight a defining work, Le Moulin de la Galette (ca. Nov. 1900), from the Guggenheim collection. One of his first paintings executed in Paris, and sold by the artist shortly thereafter, Le Moulin de la Galette is also the subject of an extensive conservation analysis and treatment project that will be unveiled with the exhibition. The famous dance hall, formerly a mill engaged in the production of a brown bread, or galette, had also been depicted by such avant-gardists as Ramon Casas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Vincent van Gogh. In his version, Picasso rendered a vibrant and expressionistic frieze of diverse patrons comingling under the dance halls electric lights. Among other notable features, Picassos painting represents the gender fluidity present in fin-de-sicle Paris and also foreshadows the social disenfranchisement of the working classes that he brought into sharper focus with his subsequent Blue Period (190104). The tragic suicide in Paris of Picassos close friend, the painter and poet Carles Casagemas, in February 1901, undeniably impacted this year of artistic and personal evolution as well. All told, his time in Paris left a strong impression; Picasso would settle there in 1904. This exhibition is part of the Picasso Celebration 19732023 program, organized with the support of the Muse national Picasso, Paris. About the Picasso Celebration 19732023 April 8, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso and thus the year will represent a celebration of his work and his artistic legacy in France, Spain, and internationally. The French and Spanish governments wished to mark this transnational event through a binational commission, bringing together the cultural and diplomatic administrations of both countries. The Picasso Celebration 19732023 revolves around some 50 exhibitions and events to be held at renowned cultural institutions in Europe and North America that, together, address a historiographical analysis of Picassos work. The Guggenheim Museum is located at 1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th Street, New York, N.Y. To learn more, visit www.guggenheim.org.