La Piscine museum in Roubaix on the outskirts of Lille is a fabulous museum, well worth a visit in its own right. It's in a former Art Deco swimming pool and baths and much of the interior is original. If you're going between February 18th and May 20th, there's an added attraction: the exhibition called Picasso at work. Through the lens of David Douglas Duncan.
The exhibition shows 157 vintage photos of Picasso's private life taken by the American photographer David Douglas Duncan (born in 1916) between 1956 and 1962, alongside around 100 of Picasso's works including paintings, sculptures, ceramics and works on paper.
The photographs show Picasso's daily life with some highly amusing depictions of him working and playing. The exhibition has been put together with help from the Picasso Museum in Malaga in Spain and the Pablo Picasso Museum in Munster in Germany. You'll see works you won't have seen unless you've visited the two other European museums.
Practical Information
La Piscine - Musée d'art et d'industrie André Diligent
23, rue de l'Espérance
59100 Roubaix
Tel.: 00 33 (0)3 20 69 23 60
Website
Open Tuesday to Thursday 11am-6pm
Friday 11am-8pm
Saturday, Sunday 1pm-6pm.
Closed Monday and May 1st
Entrance 7 euros
Image: Musicien assis, 1956, Pablo Picasso © Succession Pablo Picasso Paris 2011 Photo: Patrick Goetelen