Musée Matisse

Nice, France

The Musée Matisse in Nice is a national museum devoted to the work of French painter Henri Matisse. It gathers one of the world's largest collections of his works, tracing his artistic beginnings and his evolution through his last works. The museum, which opened in 1963, is located in the Villa des Arènes.

The Villa des Arènes was constructed from 1670 to 1685. Upon its completion, it was named the Gubernatis palace after its sponsor and owner, Jean-Baptiste Gubernatis, then consul in Nice. The villa took its current name in 1950, when the City of Nice, anxious to preserve it, bought it from a real estate company.

The museum was created in 1963 and occupied the first floor of the villa, the ground floor being then occupied by a museum of archaeology. In 1989, the archaeological museum was moved to the nearby ancient site of the city, allowing the Musée Matisse to be expanded. It was closed for four years during renovations, and reopened in 1993. With a new modern wing as well as renovated spaces, the museum could exhibit its entire permanent collection, which has continued to increase since 1963 through several successive acquisitions and donations.

The museum's permanent collection is made up of a variety of donations, primarily those of Matisse himself, who lived and worked in Nice from 1917 to 1954, and those of his heirs, as well as works contributed by the State.

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Details

Founded: 1963
Category: Museums in France

Rating

4/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

LS Sheldon (7 months ago)
What a magical experience! I didn’t think it possible to love Matisse more than I did before seeing this museum—but it’s true. ♥️ we were able to catch an exhibition of Matisse and Miro— what a wonderful friendship these two artists shared. Leaving this museum, I felt uplifted and cheerful – – that’s the effect of Matisse’s art.
Jodie Hebert (8 months ago)
A great history and documentation of the works of Henri Matisse and Joan Miro. The museum does an interesting comparison of these two contemporaries and great friends. The families have been gracious enough to share their works with the public. It is an extensive collection! ?
Nicholas Murray (8 months ago)
The Musée Matisse had an exhibition on Henri Matisse and Joan Miro, the information available was really comprehensive and told a good story of Matisse and his relationship with Miro. There was a lot of different artwork from different points in his career showing both his and Miro's work in different genres and using different mediums. The museum itself is accessed at the bottom of a flight of stairs, I noticed however the accessible entrance is up on the same level as the park, and around the opposite side of he building.
Anthony Chan (8 months ago)
Some tight security when entering and you have to leave your bottle of water behind. Unfortunately the permanent exhibitions were in Tokyo so could not see them. But architecturally the building is quite beautiful
Rich s (10 months ago)
Interesting museum, summaries the development of Nice and some choice art and craft designs from the belle epoque era, including paintings, clothing and furniture. Takes about an hour plus has some lovely gardens.
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