This winter to celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s first visit to Rome, Rocco Forte’s Hotel de Russie has created a one-of-a-kind opportunity to view some of the Spanish painter’s work in an intimate setting without going to a museum.
Picasso and poet Jean Cocteau first stayed at Hotel de Russie in February 1917 when preparing to stage the first ever Cubist ballet. During his three-month stay in Rome, Picasso enjoyed the heritage of the city and immediately became part of Rome’s vibrant artistic scene, as guests will discover through this exclusive experience. The friends occupying adjoining rooms (what is now the Picasso Suite) would lean out of the windows to pick oranges from the garden. Since this time the hotel has quietly built up a small collection of his work.
The first exhibit, which is currently on display features a collection of ceramics Picasso created when he was living in Provence; the second, from 20 January to 28 February 2017, will consist of a collection of engravings called “La Célestine”: a series of dry-points, etchings and aquatints that illustrate the 16th-century satirical tragedy attributed to the Spanish author Fernando de Rojas.
For Picasso lovers wanting more, guests of Hotel de Russie can embark on a tour taking local cultural spots such as Via Margutta, Piazza di Spagna, Trinità dei Monti, Villa Medici, as well as an insider-only visit to the studio Picasso worked from in Via Margutta, just a few steps away from the hotel. And of course the Picasso Suite.
Recently refurbished by Olga Polizzi, the Picasso Suite stands as a memory of the artist’s time spent in the Eternal City. Inspired by his signature style, the suite is decorated in cheerful yellow and purple tones, with lithographs and Picasso folio books, handcrafted tapestry cushions and some of his most famous paintings printed on pillows.
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