Pablo Ruiz Picasso, the universal artist, was born on 25th October 1881 in Málaga at a quarter past eleven at night, in the Plaza de la Merced. His baptismal name was as extravagant as his life. He was called Pablo, Diego, José, Francisco de Paula, Juan Nepomuceno, María de los Remedios, Cipriano, de la Santísima Trinidad, de la Santísima Trinidad.

To commemorate the birth of the brilliant painter from Málaga, for the last 35 years the Picasso October has been celebrated in his city of origin, to raise awareness of aspects and episodes of the biography and work of one of the most important artists of the 20th century. The Picasso Birthplace Museum has programmed a series of activities that will take place well into November. In this edition, moreover, this space shows a new, more enriching museography, which emphasises the importance of Malaga in the roots of Picasso's personality and artistic career.

Since its creation in 1988, the Picasso Birthplace Museum has amassed an extensive collection of prints, ceramics and illustrated books by Picasso, such as the only sketchbook in the Spanish collections of The Young Ladies of Avignon, with 84 drawings. In overall figures, it has more than 7,000 works of art by more than 200 different artists, including 800 works by the artist from Málaga.

Another important event linked to the genius will take place in 2023, when the 50th anniversary of his death, which took place in the French town of Mougins on 8 April 1973, will be commemorated. On this occasion, the governments of France and Spain have agreed to work together on a programme of international scope with around fifty exhibitions and events which, as a whole, will address a historiographical analysis of Picasso's work.

The Picasso Celebration 1973-2023 aims to highlight the career of an essentially European artist who, from a profound knowledge of the heritage and principles of tradition and an understanding of classicism as an ethical value, projected internationally such universal symbols as Guernica, today a collective emblem in the defence of human rights.

The Museo Casa Natal Picasso will be one of the institutions taking part in this event with the exhibition The Ages of Pablo, which will open in June next year. With its pieces as well as those from other institutional and private collections in Spain, it will offer a chronological and stylistic journey through the artist's work according to the stages that marked his life, from his formative years to those spent in the company of Jacqueline Roque: paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs serve to give an image of a timeless Picasso of permanent relevance.