5 CULTURAL DESTINATIONS TO DISCOVER ON THE COTE D’AZUR | Côte d’Azur France / French Riviera

1 – THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF PABLO PICASSO’S DEATH

While the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s death was commemorated on 8 April, several towns are devoting a special programme to the cubist master.

Starting with Vallauris Golfe-Juan, where the artist created countless potteries and ceramics at the Madura workshop. Vallauris is celebrating this heritage through the “Picasso’s ceramic creation” exhibition from 8 April to 25 June and a weekend of festivities on 6 & 7 May. Make the most of your break to visit Vallauris chateau, which houses the National Pablo Picasso Museum, War and Peace, the Magnelli Museum and the Ceramics Museum.

At the Picasso Museum in Antibes, you can explore the painter’s last few years through some forty canvases painted in Mougins. Also in Mougins, until October you can discover “Glimpses of Picasso”, a series of exhibitions, screenings and exclusive visits so you can immerse yourself in the master’s everyday life. Eight locations in the village thus pay homage to Picasso’s works, including the Mougins Museum of Classic Art.

In Saint-Paul de Vence, the Espace André Verdet is hosting the exhibition “My friend, Picasso” until 20 May and retraces the friendship between the maestro and this poet from Saint-Paul.

Lastly, Picasso is the guest of the Princely Palace of Monaco from 19 September to 15 October. A choice location for the heritage of the Spanish master, the theme of which will be “Modernity and Classicism”.

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2 – THE EXHIBITION EVENT ON CLAUDE MONET IN MONACO

On the 140th anniversary of the first time Claude Monet stayed in Monte-Carlo and on the Riviera, the Grimaldi Forum Monaco is devoting a large summer exhibition to him from 8 July to 3 September. The exhibition event entitled “Monet in the spotlight” brings together almost 100 paintings from all over the world. Consequently, it retraces Monet’s work and explores the breaks the artist spent on the Riviera at a pivotal point in its existence. In fact, he took his first trip to Monte-Carlo and the Riviera in 1883, when he had the pleasure of discovering the area with his friend Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Always seeking inspiration, he nourished his quest and his obsession with capturing the light from Monte-Carlo to Roquebrune via Bordighera and then Antibes. Indeed, it was during his last stay in the ramparted town in 1888 that he created his famous series painted from Salis Beach. The experience offers visitors a multitude of master works that are rarely shown together, as well as one that is previously unseen, allowing the master’s work to be approached from a different viewpoint.

3 – THE REOPENING OF THE MAEGHT FOUNDATION IN SAINT-PAUL-DE-VENCE

Behind the walls of the Maeght Foundation is one of the biggest collections of paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphic works of modern art, boasting over 13,000 items.

Among them are works from Miró, Giacometti, Chagall, Braque and Calder, friends of the founders and visionaries Aimé and Marguerite Maeght.

Listed as “Remarkable 20th century architecture”, the Maeght Foundation benefits from national and international recognition with its permanent and temporary exhibitions to be discovered in the heart of the countryside. Because there’s just a step between art and nature.

As of 1 July 2023, the date when the Maeght Foundation reopens, the public will be able to come and walk along the Foundation’s peaceful paths and discover the two new rooms under the two outside courtyards, one dedicated to Miró and the other to Giacometti.

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4 – THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CREATION OF THE NATIONAL MARC CHAGALL MUSEUM IN NICE

The event took place in the hills of Nice, on 7 July 1973. In fact, the National Marc Chagall Museum was inaugurated by the artist himself, on his birthday! Much more than a museum, the artist wanted to make this house the temple for his biblical creations. Consequently, you can find a set of 17 paintings here, dedicated to Genesis, Exodus and the Song of Songs, enriched by sculptures, a mosaic and stained-glass windows by Chagall. Fifty years later, the institution in Nice is celebrating this heritage around three exhibitions, inviting a handful of artists, authors, dancers and musicians to share their modern reading of his master works. The “Chagall and me!” exhibition will reveal many surprises until 8 January 2024 and will be accompanied by a rich and festive programme with a crowning event on the weekend of 7 July!

5 – THE MATISSE MUSEUM IN NICE CELEBRATES ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY

As of the opening of the Matisse Museum, the ambition was clear: raise the profile of works by Matisse outside of Nice. Because Matisse’s story is closely linked to that of the town. In fact, while the artist was profoundly attached to the Côte d’Azur, he actually created most of his works in Nice. Consequently, on 5 January 1963, the museum devoted to the maestro’s work was inaugurated in the presence of the artist’s family, and also Alberto Giacometti and Marc Chagall. And while the museum is in a large part the result of donations, particularly from the family, the site organizes temporary exhibitions throughout the year, thus allowing for a surprise on every visit.

The first, to be discovered until 29 May, is devoted to Tom Wesselmann. With the Great American Nudes series from the 1960s, Tom Wesselmann transformed Matisse’s odalisque into a pop icon. From June to September, you can discover Matisse’s works between 1930 and 1940. A decade that marked a turning point or even a breakthrough in his works, coming closer to Picasso and the surrealists. Lastly, as of October, you can discover the first retrospective of Shirley Jaffe, a reference in abstract painting from the end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st.

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