Great painters and artists of the Côte d’Azur | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Tourism

In Nice

Matisse’s artistic heritage…

Henri Matisse and Marc Chagall. Two masters who left their mark on modern painting. One was born in the North of France and the other in Belarus. But the lands they fell in love with were the Côte d’Azur and Nice, whose light and sky so strongly influenced their art. At the end of their lives, Matisse and Chagall both wanted to pay homage to them, by donating masterpieces to them. Matisse’s works shine in Musée Matisse, in Villa des Arènes, in the heart of the olive grove in the gardens of Cimiez. The villa, with its red and ochre facade typical of 17th-century Genoese architecture, is totally devoted to the artist. There are around 600 works representative of all his artistic periods, from the 1890s to the gouache paper cut-outs of his last years. As well as personal objects. All bear witness to the painter’s deep attachment to the town of Nice, where he lived for 37 years. When he discovered it, at the age of 48, he was overwhelmed by its clarity. Following an initial stay at Hotel Beau Rivage, he took up residence near Cours Saleya. Much later, in 1938, he bought a big apartment in the former Hotel Regina, in the same quarter of Cimiez where his museum now stands.

… And Chagall

Large exalted frescoes where flowers, birds, lovers and biblical scenes mingle. Always painted in strong, bright colours. Marc Chagall’s style is absolutely unique. You can recognize it at first glance. In the early 1950s, he began painting the 17 great Message Biblique paintings, inspired by the Old Testament. He donated them to the French state, who decided to build the Musée National Marc Chagall in Nice, which was inaugurated in 1973 in his presence. This is the largest public collection of Chagall’s works. A visit which is full of joy and emotions, like his work.

Musée National Marc Chagall

The Marc Chagall national museum, was created by the artist's will to bring together in one purpose-built place his most important biblical works : the 17 paintings which make...

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Chagall, a whirlwind of colour

From the Marc Chagall National Museum in Nice to the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, plunge into the mystical and colourful world of an unclassifiable artist, inspired...

Week-end festif : spécial 50ème anniversaire du Musée Chagall

In 2023, the Musée nationalMarc Chagall celebrates its 50th anniversary! The celebrations will culminate in a festive weekend where children and adults are invited to...

Itinerary In the footsteps of Marc Chagall

This lover of light and the Mediterranean land lived in Saint-Paul for nearly 20 years, tirelessly integrating the village and its ramparts in his paintings. Here, Marc Chagall...

In Mougins

Picasso’s last home and muse

Pablo Picasso’s fame was already second to none when, in 1961, aged 80, he settled in Mougins. He spent his last 12 years in the Mas Notre-Dame-de-Vie, a very big Provencal-style house. The house is now reserved for private visits, but a guided tour along the little streets of old Mougins, “Sur les pas du Maître” (In the Master’s footsteps), is much more interesting if you want to understand the love affair between the artist and the village. Mougins, with its view over the Bay of Cannes and the Esterel, was a great source of inspiration for him, and he explored new forms of art there, such as sculpture, ceramics and photography. The visit also takes you through the bedroom of the former Hotel Vaste Horizon where Picasso stayed in the 1930s with his surrealist friends.

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Picasso and the Côte d’Azur: in the footsteps of the master of modern art

The father of Cubism and an artistic genius, Pablo Picasso has handed down a magnificent legacy to the art world. Set on the Côte d’Azur – his spiritual home – the Picasso...

National Picasso Museum "War and Peace"

The former Romanesque chapel of Vallauris Castle houses the National Picasso Museum "War and Peace", a monumental composition painted on isorel panels.

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In Antibes

Hommage to Picasso, Staël, Hartung and Bergman

Inside the walls of the former Château Grimaldi in Antibes which became the Musée Picasso, facing the Mediterranean, Picasso was to reveal his artistry. In 1946, the painter used part of the place as his studio and then left several dozens of works on deposit to the town, to which ceramics made in Atelier Madoura in Vallauris were later added. The Musée Picasso is also home to major works in the last period of Nicolas de Staël, who stayed for a few months in Antibes before he committed suicide in 1945. In Antibes too, the Fondation Hartung Bergman has a particularly dreamlike decor with its modern architecture, immaculate walls, olive grove and pool. You’ll love wandering around its exhibition rooms or contemplating works by this pair of pioneers of abstract art (open from May to September).

Musée Picasso

The Château Grimaldi became the "Picasso Museum" on 27 December 1966. Picasso stayed there from mid-September to mid-November 1946 and produced many works. He left 23 paintings...

Terrasses du Musée Picasso

To mark the first anniversary of the creation of the perfume route, in 1984, the town imagined a garden of sculptures and perfumes in the prestigious setting of the Picasso...

In Vence

Works from the heart by Matisse and Chagall

June 1943: Henri Matisse came to live in Vence, at Villa le Rêve, a pretty two-story house with green shutters, surrounded by palm trees and flowers. The village has kept his memory alive with the Chapelle du Rosaire, started in 1947, his masterpiece and artistic testament. He carried out all the work from A to Z, from architecture to decoration, both of them refined. The highlight: green and yellow stained-glass windows and three big drawings in black on a white background. The museum area of Chapelle du Rosaire exhibits his preparatory works and the Musée de Vence has made a permanent area devoted to Matisse. But Vence hasn’t revealed all its secrets: the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de la Nativité – the smallest cathedral in France – is home to a gem, the mosaics of the baptistery “Moïse sauvé des eaux” (1979), made by Marc Chagall and which he was to donate to the town.

Chapelle du Rosaire

Designed and decorated by Matisse, this chapel is lit up by stunning stained glass windows, and is considered by the painter himself to be his masterpiece.

Museum of Vence and Permanent Henri Matisse exhibition space

Following the former exhibition, the permanent space is dedicated to show Vence’s personal Henri Matisse collection mainly composed of graphic works such as charcoals,...

The Notre-Dame de la Nativité Cathedral

Jewel of the city’s religious heritage, the Notre-Dame de la Nativité Cathedral, a classified historic landmark, built from the 11th century onwards, was the headquarters of...

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In Saint-Paul-de-Vence

Chagall’s idea of love

Saint-Paul-de-Vence, an authentic hilltop village is the pearl of the Riviera. It was in this little paradise that Marc Chagall settled in 1966. He stayed there until he died in 1985. The medieval ramparts, the bright blue sky and the gentle atmosphere inspired many paintings on the theme of love. He was regularly seen at the Colombe d’Or and the Café de la Place. His work is now exhibited at the Fondation Maeght, which he helped to create: his mosaic “Les Amoureux“, which stands in the gardens and the monumental and autobiographic painting “La Vie“. His keenest admirers also go and see the mosaic on the pediment of the nursery school.

La Colombe d'Or

A legendary restaurant cherished by artists since the '30s. The art of dining at its most natural.

The Maeght Foundation

The Maeght Foundation is part of the great history of art and a story of family and friendship between Aimé and Marguerite Maeght, visionary art dealers, and their artist...

Itinerary In the footsteps of Marc Chagall

This lover of light and the Mediterranean land lived in Saint-Paul for nearly 20 years, tirelessly integrating the village and its ramparts in his paintings. Here, Marc Chagall...

In Cagnes-sur-Mer

In Renoir’s tree-filled cocoon

To the east of Cagnes-sur-Mer, a hill watches over one of the best-kept secrets of the great painters of the Côte d’Azur: Les Collettes estate and villa, which have become the Musée Renoir. This incredibly peaceful place owes much of its charm to its lush green grounds and the medieval village of Haut-de-Cagnes. It’s hardly surprising that Renoir chose to have the family home built there in 1908. The Musée Renoir is both a little oasis, ideal for contemplation and also a dive into the private life of the painter, where you can admire 14 paintings and 40 sculptures. Visit his studio, where Matisse often came to see him, and where intimate archives to complete this moving tour where you’ll discover or rediscover Renoir like never before.

Renoir Museum

The Renoir Museum offers visitors and amateurs to rediscover the atmosphere in which Renoir lived at the end of his life. The house-museum presents in addition to intimate...

The garden of the Museum Renoir - Domaine des Collettes

The garden of the Musée Renoir covers almost 15,000 m² and features a plantation of olive trees that Auguste Renoir wanted to save when he bought the farm in 1907.

Meeting the Impressionists on the Côte d’Azur

The first Impressionist exhibition took place in Paris 150 years ago. To celebrate the anniversary of this movement that revolutionized the history of art, the Côte d’Azur is...

In Menton

In Cocteau’s joyful and mysterious world

Just after WW2, Jean Cocteau, a keen lover of the Côte d’Azur that he knew well, fell under the spell of Menton. The town returned the feeling and now owns a large part of his artistic heritage. First of all, Le Bastion. It was abandoned when, in 1957, the artist discovered it while decorating the Wedding Room. He completely restored the place in intricate detail but was not able to see his work terminated: the museum opened 3 years after he died. Other places bear witness to Cocteau’s profound attachment to Menton: the Town Hall’s Salle des mariages, where the walls and ceilings are decorated with his frescoes and where he developed what he was to call “the Menton style”. Here lovers say “I do” in front of Orpheus and Eurydice reinterpreted by the artist who was fascinated by Greek mythology. Currently closed for repairs, the Musée Jean Cocteau – Collection Séverin Wunderman, embellished by Rudy Ricciotti’s architecture, is also dedicated to him and explores all the facets of his creation.