In the immediate post-War period, Picasso reveled in his ability to go South again and the newfound atmosphere of freedom. He spent the best part of these years on the Côte d'Azur : at Cannes, Golfe-Juan and Antibes,
and in the autumn of 1946 at the Château Grimaldi, giving him the space to create some large-scale works such as the eponymous "
La Joie de Vivre ", a seaside Bacchanal that represents the zenith of the Antibes period. The Grimaldi paintings formed the kernel of the first Picasso Museum in Antibes. During the museum's renovation, its whole collection has been loaned to Palazzo Grassi, supplemented by works from elsewhere, to form a comprehensive survey of this colorful period
when Picasso was happy, in love (with Françoise Gilot) and exploring Mediterranean mythology and ceramics.

Palazzo Grassi
Picasso, La Joie de Vivre 1945-1948
Campo San Samuele, 3231
30124 Venice
T. +39 041 523 16 80