History & Picasso

Due to the hotel’s key location, the building itself has a great history. During the restoration process, archaeologists found part of the dock of the city of Barcino (dating back to the 1st-5th century) which remains underneath the hotel to this day. It was the first real piece of evidence to be found in Barcelona that served to confirm what many had wanted to prove, that is, that sea levels had once risen to Paseo de Colon.

The building`s façade also has an interesting past as it was restored to preserve the original design of architect Francesc Daniel Molina, renowned for having designed the famous Plaça Reial in the 19th century, a famous square in the Gothic Quarter that lies next to La Rambla and constitutes a world famous touristic attraction.

Moreover, Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, started his career with his first studio in this precise building back in 1896. It was here that he painted Science and Charity one of the major works of his early career.

When Picasso was 14 years old, he moved with his family to Barcelona and was quick to apply to the city’s prestigious School of Fine Arts. Despite this initial enthusiasm, he soon began skipping classes so that he could roam the streets of Barcelona, sketching some of its beautiful sights.

By this time, approximately – i.e. between spring and fall of the year 1896 – Picasso had his first studio, which he shared with his friend Pallarès, on Carrer de la Plata 4. Today we know that Science and charity was painted here.

With Pallarès, from the rooftops to which they had access from this studio, they sometimes engage in throwing pebbles at bypassers passing through Carrer de la Plata… Until one day, in an effort to perfect their aim, they strike the top hat of a pompous man, who goes searching for a municipal authority to have them arrested.

The two boys hide in the studio and remain there for a while immobilized, with their hearts palpitating with fear. The man, accompanied by the municipal authority, inspects the area, nearly knocking down doors in an effort to find them.

Eventually, they hear the doorwoman crying out to them from the staircase:

-You can come out, they’ve left!

The large Science and charity canvas that at the time hung from the wall, was that which had served as a windbreaker for the two friends and had prevented them from being seen through the skylight.

-Extract from Picasso and his Catalan friends