Nude Woman with Necklace (1962). © Succession Picasso/DACS 2007

A major exhibition in Edinburgh is giving an insight into the art and life of one of the 20th century’s greatest artists.

Picasso: Fired With Passion, is running at the National Museum of Scotland until October 28 2007 and draws on the artist’s work from 1947 to 1961, including a significant period of his life when he was working at Vallauris in southern France.

It offers an intimate glimpse into his life and work, with personal photographs and effects joined by outstanding examples of ceramics, metalwork, painting and lithography.

Tête de faune (Head of a Faun) (1947). © Succession Picasso/DACS 2007

“We are very excited to be creating and presenting this major Picasso exhibition in the capital during the Edinburgh Festival,” said Rose Watban, Curator of Applied Art and Design at National Museums Scotland.

“Our exhibition is a fresh celebration of the man behind the art, and the diversity of his work across different media including ceramics and jewellery. Visitors will be surprised to discover this aspect of his creativity, illustrated by over 100 objects drawn from world-class collections.”

Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain in 1881, but spent much of his life in France. By 1946 his reputation as a painter had become well established, having produced influential works since the early 1900s and having pioneered Cubism along with Georges Braque.

Picasso and family: Françoise, Claude, Paloma and Pablo Picasso in the garden of the villa La Galloise, Vallauris 1953. Photo Edward Quinn © edwardquinn.com

He later moved on to different media, devoting himself to mastering ceramics and experimenting with other applied arts. His time in Vallauris, where he lived from 1948 to 1955, led to a flowering of the pottery industry in the town, which is still felt to this day.

Picasso was extremely prolific and made more than 2,000 ceramic works from 1947 to 1948 and the exhibition includes several idiosyncratic works from the Vallauris years.

In addition, the show features posters and linocuts, looks at his family life and its impact on his work and examines his friendships with other artists and intellectuals of the time like Braque, Jean Cocteau and Jaime Sabartés.

Composition aux oeufs á la saucisse (1947). © Succession Picasso/DACS 2007

While living in Vallauris Picasso kept a studio in Paris and the exhibition recreates this space with large photographic backdrops, and showcases paintings, lithographs and book illustrations.

Picasso: Fired With Passion is the first of two shows in the capital this year focusing on the Spanish artistic icon with an exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland’s Dean Gallery concentrating on Picasso’s works on paper, running from July 14 to September 7 2007.