Fundación Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso

Boisgeloup

Pablo Picasso purchased an estate in Boisgeloup, Normandy where he installed his sculpture studio and stayed from 1930 to 1937. Bernard and Almine decided to breath life back into it in a contemporary way.

Boisgeloup Estate - View of the façade and garden

Chateau de Boisgeloup

Fondation FABA

At the dawn of World War II, Pablo Picasso brought all his plaster sculptures to his studio in Boisgeloup, near Paris, in order to protect them and eventually cast them into bronze. Since then, towards the end of the 1930s, the studio has remained intact but empty.

Located about 60 kilometers northwest of Paris, close to Gisors in Normandy and not far from Auvers-sur-Oise, Giverny and Eragny, the Château de Boisgeloup is an estate, which Picasso purchased on June 10, 1930. As he fell in love with the beauty and peace of the surroundings, he decided to install his sculpture studio in Boisgeloup, where he regularly stayed with his wife Olga and their son Paul until 1937.

According to traditional beliefs, the name Boisgeloup derives from bois-jaloux, which in this context implies a wood that is hidden away or screened as if by a jalousie, suggesting the secret nature of the place. The present château was built during the 18th century, following the burning down of the former one. It is situated in a park, which is surrounded by a stone wall. A high portal gives access to the property, with sculpted frames ornamenting its mounts and heavy doors in solid wood. The latter is overlooked by the property’s own church. There is an old dovecote at the rear of the servants’ quarters facing the château, a part of which Picasso took over as his sculpture studio.

In this place of life and creation, Picasso received the frequent visit of illustrious friends from the artistic milieu of the period. He left Boisgeloup in 1937, whereas Olga stayed until the 1940s. Born in 1921, Olga Khokhlova and Pablo Picasso’s only son, Paul, lived on the property until his passing in 1975. During the following decades, the sculpture studio served as a stockroom until Paul’s son, Bernard, and his wife Almine decided to breath life back into it in a contemporary way.

  • Press

    The Château that fired Picasso’s imagination, Financial Times, February 2023

  • Exhibition

    Almine Rech Gallery and FABA are delighted to announce the exhibition Hymn by Gerasimos Floratos in Picasso’s historic sculpture studio at Château de Boisgeloup, Gisors fr.

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  • Exhibition

    Almine Rech and FABA are delighted to announce a momentous exhibition of French sculptor César celebrating the centenary of his birth, taking place in Picasso’s historic studio at Boisgeloup Gisors fr.

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  • Exhibition poster
    Loaning

    Boisgeloup, l’atelier normand de Picasso, Musée des Beaux Arts, Rouen fr, from April 1 to September 11, 2017.

  • Exhibition poster
    Loaning

    Un soir à Boisgeloup. L'atelier de Pablo Picasso, Castle of Boisgeloup, Gisors fr, October 20, 2012