The Kunstmuseum Basel's Picasso-Story

In 1967 Pablo Picasso's paintings Les deux frères and Arlequin assis, which at the time were on permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel, were to be sold on the international market. A referendum approved a sum of 6 million Swiss francs from tax money, and a further 2 million Swiss francs collected by the population in a beggar's feast made it possible to acquire the two works for the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel. Deeply touched by the decision in favor of his art, Picasso spontaneously invited the director of the Kunstmuseum Basel, Franz Meyer, to his studio to make him a gift of three more paintings for the city of Basel as well as an important, large-format compositional study for Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

In 2018, the Kunstmuseum Basel marked this event with the exhibition Art. Money. Museum. At that time, these two videos were created, which retell the story in a playful and informative way.