Claude Ruiz Picasso, son of the Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, has passed away, his lawyer, Jean-Jacques Noir, announced Thursday, in a statement received by Agence France-Presse.
Noir said that Claude Ruiz Picasso “died in Switzerland at the age of 76,” without indicating the cause of his death.
Between the years 1989 and 2023, the deceased took over the management of the estate of the international painter, an entity concerned with the rights related to the late artist and his works. Last July, Claude Ruiz Picasso expressed his desire to step down from this responsibility to his sister Paloma, who was appointed director in his place.
Pablo Picasso had four children, Paul, the eldest, who was born from the painter’s association with Olga Khokhlova, and died in 1975, and Maya, who died in 2022, the daughter of Marie-Thérèse Walter, Claude and Paloma, who were born from his association with the French writer Françoise Gilo.
Noir indicated that Claude Ruiz Picasso is married to Sylvie Vautier and father to Jasmine and Soulal.
The Picasso Estate Foundation holds the copyright and reproduction rights to Picasso’s works, as well as personal, moral and trademark rights. It issues authentication certificates, fights fraudulent and counterfeit works, and constantly files lawsuits.