EVER wondered what it is like to be someone 'full of life'? To be one of those huge characters that make a mark on history?

Picasso was certainly one, and thanks to the new exhibition at the National Gallery, you can start to imagine why.

From the beginning of his career at the turn of the last century until the end in April 1973, he fearlessly appropriated the style of his artistic heroes.

Whether reinterpreting Nicholas Poussin (1594-1665), Velazquez (1599-1660), Edouard Manet (1832-1883) or Toulouse Lautrec (1864-1901), no artistic ground was too holy to tread on.

You could be tempted to interpret this as mere imitation, but the pace at which his own style grows comes, as the title of the exhibition suggests, from his ability to challenge the past.

Rather than see the genius of his forebears as a burden, they become the hues of a liberated palette. This attitude of artistic freedom also means that humour and mockery are never too far from his canvas either.

Self portraits such as Man in a Straw Hat with Ice Cream Cone, drawn in 1938 in the style of VanGogh, play on the theme of the starving artist. Picasso said of the painting, "People do not understand that Van Gogh - it's me," suggesting that if he understood suffering for his art, Van Gogh must have understood the enjoyment of a good ice cream every now and again too.

Thanks to the excellent exhibition audio-guide, we also learn that Picasso was a huge fan of dress-up, always keeping props at hand in his studio. The best example is Portrait of Jacqueline in Turkish Costume, 1955, in which the fiery vibrancy of colour brush-stroke embodies what I can only imagine to have been part of their relationship.

Of course, not everyone could have journeyed through contemporaries and great artists of the past the way he did. It was a privilege bestowed by his talent, and thankfully he used it until his dying day at the age of 91.

Picasso: Challenging the Past, the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square. Open until midnight on Friday, May 15. £6-12. The Mystery of Picasso, 1956, film screening. Free. 7.30pm. Call 0844 2091778.

See www.nationalgallery.org.uk

Juan Manuel Bonet, former director of the Valencia Institute of Modern Art and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, will give a talk Picasso antes de Picasso: naturalism, symbolism, primitivism, on Tuesday at 6.30pm, at the Instituto Cervantes, 102 Eaton Square, Sloane Square. Free. Call 020 7235 0353. See www.londres.cervantes.es.

OTHER EVENTS:

Horror at the Museum is at University College London, Malet Place, Westminster. Screening of two horror films amid the mummies is on May 15. Not suitable for children. 6pm to 10pm. Free. Call 020 7679 2884. See www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk.

Curator-led candlelit tours at Sir John Soane's Museum, 13 Lincoln's Inn

Fields, Holborn, is on May 15. Exclusive access for just one evening, with drinks served prior to curators taking guests on a tour of the extraordinary, labyrinthine house that Soane created to display his many collections. Candles will illuminate the sarcophagus of Egyptian King Seti I, and areas of the museum not normally open to the public. Suitable for all ages. £20, £35 for two persons, £65 for four persons. Tours at 6pm, 6.30pm, 7pm and 7.30pm. Call 020 7440 4263. See www. soane.org.

The Craven Street bones night and tour is at the Benjamin Franklin House, 36 Craven Street, Westminster on May 15-16. See the beautiful Georgian building by candlelight before enjoying a glass of wine in the basement to hear the chilling story of bodysnatchers and the Craven Street Anatomy School run by the father of electricity's fellow resident, William Hewson. Call 0207 839 2006. See www.benjamin franklinhouse.org.

Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms - A Night in the Shelter, Clive Steps, King Charles Street, Westminster. Stay in a Second World War shelter for the night and experience life during the Blitz. Or, on Thursday, May 14, try Late-Night Jazz at the War Rooms, at which best 1940s dress gets a wartime-themed prize hamper worth £100. 6pm to 10pm. £25. Call 020 7930 6961. See www.cwr.iwm.org.uk or www.swingdanceuk.com.

A Night in Space at the Royal Observatory, Blackheath Avenue, Greenwich. An evening of space-themed family family fun, including the evening premiere of the new planetarium show Ice Worlds, exclusive late access to the telescopes exhibition and interactive time and astronomy galleries. Plus free star chart-making workshops, ask-anastronomer sessions and costumed actors on the Meridian Line, telling the story of the Royal Observatory. 7pm to 10pm. Call 020 8858 4422. See www.nmm.ac.uk/places/ royal-observatory/.

London Canal Museum - Special Late Night Opening Until Midnight, 12-13 New Wharf Road, King's Cross. See inside a narrowboat cabin, learn about the history of London's canals, the cargo carried and the people who lived and worked on the waterways. The museum will be open until midnight with special lighting effects around the building and magic lantern shows later in the evening. Suitable for all ages. 10pm-midnight. Free. Call 020 7713 0836. See www.canalmuseum.org.uk.

Pall Mall Night Art Fair at La Galleria Pall Mall, The Royal Opera Arcade, Trafalgar Square. Special opening until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights, and until 10pm on Sunday. Paintings, photography and sculpture from more than 20 artists will be on show and for sale in both galleries and along the covered Royal Opera Arcade. Call 0207 930 8069. See www.thelateshows.org.uk or www.lagalleria.org.

Museums at Night, May 15-17, is at selected venues across London. For full listings see www.culture24.org.uk .