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Opening and Closing in August

Jean-François Millet -- one of the most influential artists of the 19th century with his depictions of toiling country folk -- is the subject of a free exhibition in just one room at London's National Gallery that opens on August 7. Millet: Life on the Land  mainly features work from British museums, but has a star attraction in the shape of  L’Angélus from the Musée d'Orsay. On until October 19.  In eastern Germany, Chemnitz is one of this year's European capitals of culture, and one of the major exhibitions on their programme starts on August 10. Edvard Munch -- Angst  in the Kunstsammlungen am Theaterplatz will recall, in part, a visit by Munch to Chemnitz 120 years ago. And, of course, there'll be a version of The Scream . Until November 2.  On the other side of the country, a rather different offering at the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn: an exhibition devoted to the German filmmaker Wim Wenders, creator of Wings of Desire and Paris, Texas , and marking his 8...
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Picasso: Twice as Pricey at the Tate as in Paris

It's getting more expensive to visit London's big art exhibitions, with prices in 2018 crossing the £20 mark. The Picasso 1932 show at Tate Modern starting in early March looks to be setting a new benchmark.

The headline price for tickets to Picasso, described by the Tate as "one of the most significant shows the gallery has ever staged", will be £22, or £25 including a Gift Aid donation. The exhibition is a joint effort with the Musée Picasso in Paris, where it's just finished its run. In Paris, though, full-price tickets cost just 12.50 euros, or £11, half the London level.
Exhibition prices at the Tate have been hovering just under the £20 mark recently. The Modigliani show on Bankside and the Impressionists on Millbank both cost a headline £19.70 (£17.70 without a Gift Aid donation), while the Bacon and Freud show starting at Tate Britain on February 28 is £19.50 (though it's £17 if you book in advance).

Both the recent Cezanne show at the National Portrait Gallery and the outstanding Charles I exhibition at the Royal Academy have cost £18 without a Gift Aid donation, £20 with.

The National Gallery is adopting a similar trend. You'll pay £20 during the week and £22 at weekends to see Monet & Architecture starting there in April, though tickets are £2 cheaper if booked online.
Consumer prices in Britain have risen about 7% in the past five years. By comparison, tickets for Tate Modern's big spring show appear to have more than doubled. The Roy Lichtenstein retrospective in 2013 cost £14.

We asked the Tate to comment on the pricing for Picasso, but so far it hasn't responded.

How do the big shows on the Continent compare? The Louvre is doing Delacroix starting next month and is charging 15 euros, while you can get into the Rubens exhibition at the Städel in Frankfurt for 14 euros during the week.

Is more than £20 for an art show expensive? Not necessarily. Compared with a couple of hours spent at a top sporting event or the theatre, it's good value. And West End cinema tickets are not far off £20 these days either. The big question is whether these £20 blockbusters will live up to their billing....

Images

Pablo Picasso, Nude in a Black Armchair (Nu au fauteuil noir), 1932, Private collection, USA. (c) Succession Picasso/DACS London, 2017
Claude Monet, The Water-Lily Pond (Le Bassin aux nymphéas), 1899. (c) The National Gallery, London

Pablo Picasso
Nude in a Black Armchair (Nu au fauteuil noir)
1932
Oil paint on canvas
1613 x 1295 mm
Private Collection, USA
© Succession Picasso/DACS London, 2017
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