Visitor numbers to Malaga's Picasso and Carmen Thyssen museums have levelled out in 2025

The figures are certainly not insignificant, but this has not been a year of record-breaking growth for Malaga city's principal museums. After several consecutive years of increases that surpassed pre-Covid pandemic levels, Malaga's art museums are showing signs of stabilisation in visitor numbers wishing to view their collections. The Museo Picasso Málaga and the Museo Carmen Thyssen upheld the tradition of bidding farewell to 2025 with visitor totals that show very similar numbers to those of 2024. With data still provisional and awaiting the final tally, the museum dedicated to the Malaga-born genius is once again approaching 800,000 admissions for the second year running, with just 13 more visitors than in 2024. Meanwhile, the Baroness's museum again exceeded 202,000 entries, but with a drop of just over 700 visits compared to the previous year (a difference that could narrow once the final headcount is available).

Both museums consistently rank among the most visited museums in the province each year - and even in all Andalucía in the case of the Picasso - an honour they share with the Museum of Malaga, which has not yet released its figures. The Picasso Museum Malaga closes 2025 with 792,366 visitors, practically the same result as 12 months ago: 792,353. "This result confirms the maturity of this cultural project, which maintains a stable visitor base in a highly competitive cultural and tourism environment," said the museum in a press statement. According to the museum, the figure "is evidence of the public's loyalty and sustained interest in Picasso's work and the museum's exhibitions".

For the museum's artistic director, Miguel López-Remiro, "to reach almost 800,000 visitors for the second year running, together with a high level of participation in educational and cultural activities, confirms the strength and trajectory of the Museo Picasso Málaga project".

The year at the Buenavista Palace began and ended with two Picasso exhibitions from different perspectives: Picasso: The Royan Sketchbooks and Picasso: Memory and Desire. In the contemporary artists section, the museum hosted the massive installation of More Sweetly Play the Dance by William Kentridge and the exhibition entitled Genius Loci, by Belgian artist Farah Atassi. Returning to the 20th century, the Óscar Domínguez retrospective delved into the surrealist work of this artist from the Canary Islands. The schedule of temporary exhibitions also included a new foray outside its home venue, with Picasso x Barceló at the Museum of Almeria.

The Carmen Thyssen museum has maintained visitor numbers at around the 202,000 mark, with a total of 202,715 visitors at the closing of this press release. In 2024, the total stood at 203,471. In addition to housing one of the most outstanding collections of 19th- and 20th-century Spanish painting, eight temporary exhibitions have attracted a large audience.

The year began with three such exhibitions already underway: Normative and Rebellious Nudes (1870-1970), Imogen Cunningham's photography in Bare Essentials and Sorolla in Andalucía (artwork on loan from Barcelona's Sorolla Museum). Two other exhibitions were inaugurated in 2025: one on Spanish figure-painting in the 1980s and, lastly, Telúricos y Primitivos: From the Vallecas School to Miquel Barceló (a collection of 64 pieces by 45 Spanish artists of all artistic forms that can still be visited until 1 March 2026). Also, in the Sala Noble, a room reserved for artistic treats and the grand masters, this has featured works ranging from Zurbarán to Rembrandt (until 18 January).