VILLA NOAILLES, MASTERPIECE OF MODERN ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE

Nicknamed the “interesting little house to live in” at Hyeres, Villa Noailles, a jewel of modern architectural heritage, was built in Hyères in the 1920s for the benefactors Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles. It became an art centre of national interest, and there you can discover exhibitions, festivals and workshops all year round!

THE NOAILLES, A COUPLE SERVING ART

Always surrounded by the greatest avant-garde artists like Cocteau, Picasso, Ernst, etc., Charles and Marie-Laure, a couple of wealthy benefactors, built Villa Noailles in Hyères. The couple comprised the richest heiress in France and Viscount Noailles.

More than anyone, this couple understood the duties imposed by wealth, namely to serve beauty, either by helping poets and painters, or by stretching the imagination of people the world over through parties. They really wanted to support surrealist artists and collect various works.

A meeting with this couple became an essential rendezvous for the artistic society and Parisian socialites on the Côte d’Azur.

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20TH CENTURY AVANT GARDE LOCATION

Commissioned in 1920 and completed ten years later, on the hills of Hyères, Villa Noailles became the avant-garde meeting place.

In fact, the couple called on an impressive list of artists: Louis Barillet for the windows; Pierre Chareau, Eileen Gray, Djo-Bourgeois and Francis Jourdain for the furnishings; Piet Mondrian, Henri Laurens, Jacques Lipchitz, Constantin Brancusi and Alberto Giacometti, etc. for the artworks.

After several successive enlargements (1,800 m²), the villa boasted guest bedrooms, covered swimming pool, gym and a “cubist” garden created by Gabriel Guévrékian.

VILLA NOAILLES TODAY

The Villa, protected as a Historic Monument, has been awarded the “Patrimoine du XXᵉ siècle” [20th Century Heritage], “Maison des Illustres” [Celebrity Home] and “Iconic Houses” labels, and its gardens are “Jardins Remarquables” [Remarkable Gardens].

This jewel of modern architectural heritage is now an art centre of national interest and programmes exhibitions, festivals and workshops all year round in the fields of fashion, design, architecture and photography.

Through a collection of works and furnishings, a permanent exhibition is dedicated to the history of the premises and its patrons covering the avant-garde from the 1920s to the 1960s (Dalí, Man Ray, Cocteau, Buñuel, etc.).

Note: entrance is free of charge.

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