WHAT? Picasso: Printmaker 

WHERE? British Museum, 44 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG

WHEN? Now until 30th March 2025

WHY GO? For the thrill of seductive art. However many words are written about Picasso, or exhibitions of his work, we just simply cannot get enough!  This is the latest, a thrilling show majoring on his fine art prints and it displays over 100 of his etchings, lithographs and linocuts, a mere fraction of the 2,400 he created during his lifetime.  

For the artist whose relationship with women is almost as famous as his work, and indeed inspired much of it, this is a fascinating hybrid collection, both illuminating and decadent. 

What a genius he was, turning his hand to numerous arts and crafts from etching and painting to ceramics and even sculpture but prints offered him an opportunity to relate stories, and perhaps please an audience that might hitherto not buy into his paintings. 

His erotic fantasies are revealed throughout, particularly in a series of racy images of Minotaurs engaging with Greek goddesses, undoubtedly inspired by his own relationships with devoted mistresses. 

Picasso’s fine art prints are endlessly imaginative. Especially poignant are the etchings and aquatints commissioned during his final years known as the 347 Suite which pick up on earlier major themes like bullfighting and circus performers.

Even at the grand age of 86, he was still experimenting with new print techniques and this brilliantly curated show will appeal to hardcore Picasso fans and proves forever that he had the Midas touch.

IN THE KNOW Anyone visiting the British Museum can now step inside the magnificent Reading Room recently reopened after being closed since 2013.  

Inaugurated in 1857 to great acclaim and inspired by the Pantheon in Rome, the book stacks were built to house around 25 miles of shelves. 

It is truly spectacular and free with short 20-minute tours every Tuesday (book online).