The Picasso Museum Set to Reopen with New President, Laurent Le Bon
The state appointed Laurent Le Bon president of the closed Musée Picasso in June and sent him on an emergency mission to reopen the museum's regal 17th-century mansion after five years of construction and renovation, with several missed start dates and an employee revolt that led to the firing in May of the previous president on the grounds of autocratic management.
Mr. Le Bon, 45, said of the situation, "I don't believe we are at war. There is no conflict. My method is very simple: to assess the situation, to read what has been produced and to listen."
The Picasso Museum, in the Hôtel Salé, has doubled its public space to house the largest collection of Picasso paintings in the world. It is now scheduled to open on Oct. 25, which would have been Picasso's 133rd birthday.
On Sept. 20 and 21, visitors will get a free preliminary peek at the empty mansion before the paintings are hung. In the meantime, Mr. Le Bon is waging a charm offensive, including reaching a preliminary accord with the ousted president, Anne Baldassari. This week, the ministry of culture and Mr. Le Bon were finishing up an agreement to bring her back as a curator for the opening exhibition that she had already planned.
This state-run museum owes its existence to the Picasso family, who donated over 5,000 artworks after the artist's death in 1973.
When the management shake-up happened, Claude Picasso, the artist's son and a member of the museum board, became enraged, scorning any replacement as an impostor. But since Mr. Le Bon's appointment, he has muted his criticism and declined to make a comment. Mr. Le Bon met with him and also visited Maya Widmaier Picasso, the artist's daughter by his mistress - and frequent model - Marie-Thérèse Walter.
In addition to making amends with the family, Mr. Le Bon hosted a flurry of personal and group meetings. Mr. Le Bon met with the employees, the local union, gallery owners and neighbors miffed by the endless construction. There is now discussion underway about changing the metal pergola facing a garden and public space that provoked neighborhood criticism.
François Margolin, a documentary filmmaker and a neighbor who, together with a local preservation group, lodged complaints about the museum's construction permits, said he met with Mr. Le Bon and came away impressed with his collegial style, an impression shared by the union. "He is not egotistical," Mr. Margolin said. "He has real experience opening museums. He is more open and has a method of working with other people, listening to the opinions of others. He is really professional."
Beyond the neighborhood, Mr. Le Bon has also initiated contact with major French museums that had had not so great relations with his predecessor. In October, he is lending three Picasso works to the Musée d'Orsay and he plans to loan more to museums in France and New York. Mr. Le Bon said on Tuesday in an interview, "It's a public collection and does not belong to me. I am delighted that we have such a huge stock in reserve. And I also am glad that there are people that want to use it for great projects. That's part of our métier: collection, exhibition."
On Tuesday, trucks transported the first Picasso artworks to arrive after a long absence. "It's like preparing a play, or a film, or a musical spectacular," Mr. Le Bon said, recalling how he was moved to tears when the first person walked in the door of the Centre Pompidou Metz "An opening is magic."
Mr. Le Bon insists that the grand double doors will open on time and that the museum has restored its serenity. "It's certain that it will open," he said. "That's for sure. This is my job and my passion."
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