The metamorphoses of Guernica: an Artiou exhibition pick in Paris

Exhibition guide

From April 8 until September 6, 2026, the Musée national Picasso-Paris will present a unique virtual reality experience dedicated to the masterpiece Guernica.

Visit details

• Dates: From Wednesday April 8, 2026 to Sunday September 6, 2026: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Venue: Musée national Picasso-Paris, 5, rue de Thorigny, Paris
• Price: De 0 à 7 euros.
• Audience: Public enfants, jeunes et adultes. A partir de 10 ans.
• Source: Event page

About the exhibition

The Metamorphoses of Guernica , offers a unique dive into the heart of one of the major masterpieces of the 20th century. This virtual reality experience traces the history of Pablo Picasso's monumental painting, from its commission for the Paris International Exhibition in 1937 to its status as an icon, symbol of peace.

The experience invites the viewer to pass through a succession of significant moments and places: the Spanish Republican Pavilion, where the work is revealed to the public for the first time; the ruins of the Basque town of Gernika after the bombardment that inspired the painting; the Parisian workshop of the Grands-Augustins, place of creation of the work; finally the different itineraries of the canvas, before its final installation at the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid.

The story is carried by the voices of two privileged witnesses: that of the writer Juan Larrea, member of the Spanish republican delegation, and that of Dora Maar, surrealist artist and companion of the artist, whose anti-fascist commitment was decisive in the birth of this political work and who documented the genesis of the work through a series of photographs.

At the crossroads of art history and sensory immersion, The Metamorphoses of Guernica offers a new way of understanding the history of this work of universal significance, in resonance with the collections of the Musée national Picasso-Paris, which allow us to understand the entirety of his work and which preserve preliminary studies, archival documents and a corpus of works closely linked to the creation of Guernica .

“ The Musée national Picasso-Paris wanted to complement the visit to its collections with a VR film which presents Guernica (1937), a major work by Picasso. This emblematic painting of his commitment against the Franco regime, an essential history painting of the 20th century, marks an essential stage in his career. It was important to evoke it, thanks to the use of VR technology, within the most important public collection of Picasso's works in the world. This immersive experience allows us to understand, thanks to the archives and the writing of director Nicolas Thépot (Lucid Realities) and the museum's scientific council, the historical context, the complex genesis and the very wide reception of this masterpiece, preserved today at the Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid . », Cécile Debray, President of the Picasso-Paris National Museum.

Presented in the auditorium of the Hôtel Salé, this immersive experience also echoes the rooms on the 3rd floor dedicated to Picasso during the Second World War and to his works created at the end of the 1930s and during the Occupation.