Picasso at Ateneum

The art museum Ateneum has been hosting a big Picasso exhibition for a while, and last weekend we got a spark (from a friend) to visit the show. Today was the day. After gently waking Niilo up from his nap, we got everyone dressed, out of the door, and to Helsinki city center.

Ateneum enjoys an excellent location in Helsinki, next to the central railway station, and thus it is easily accessible from all directions. They was a queue already outside — something that rarely happens in Finnish museums — and it took about fifteen minutes to get in and pay the fare. We met our friends while queuing, and their presence probably toned the boys down a bit; Aapo is not that fond of strange people…

The exhibition was crowded, too, but fortunately not overly so and you could enjoy the works. I was walking with Niilo and his stroller while Sanna took good care of Aapo. Our friends enjoyed much bigger freedom of movement, as we were only ones that have kids. That said, boys behaved really well, and Aapo showed some interest in the works, too. Niilo was just happy to sit in the stroller or climb on the chairs.

The works of art are from Paris — the museum there is being renovated and the collection is loaned to other museums during that time — and it was a good retrospective throughout Picasso’s career. There were numerous paintings for all his artistic eras, and a good amount of sculptures, too.

We visited also a café on the third floor, and then the boys vent off their steam by running and fightning. Nothing major, but Sanna decided to take them to a walk — that ended into a playarea built in the museum. The rest of the museum tour consisted of Finnish modernists and some more traditional Finnish art.

If you are visiting (or living in) Helsinki, do pop over to Ateneum while the works of Picasso are there.