Welcome to the French Riviera

History

French Riviera has been a place of interest for a long time.
The Grand Tour, which was a trip of the elite of Great Britain to improve their culture,  helped the region to flourish.
During the 19th century, the nobles came during winter to use the sun as a therapy. The new borough was created for English who settled in Nice. Restaurants, tennis clubs, casinos, were built to satisfy this new population. 
After World War 1, tourism changed. People wanted to come during summer enjoy bathing. Hotels started to open all year round.

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The painters

The painters and the French Riviera is a long and passionate history.
During 19th century, the painting in France was mostly academic. Artists were going to the school of Fine Arts approved by the State. 
With the invention of tubes of paints and easel to carry, painters started to paint outside.
Claude Monet opened a break with his painting : Impression Soleil Levant
He wanted to paint the moment, the air, the light, and not a scenery. This is the beginning of Impressionism.

Many artists were looking for this new way of painting. 
Paul Cezanne joined the impressionist movement. He started to paint landscapes of Marseilles and the Mountain Sainte Victoire. Friends of him will follow him to the south, like Renoir and Monet.
They discovered this astonishing light and these amazing colors of the nature.

« Here is only blue, pink and gold, but Good Lord, how difficult it is ! »  - Monet

 

The impressionist movement was only the first step to the new generation of artists.

Seurat and his friend Paul Signac experienced pure colors directly on the canvas.
19th century is also the century of scientific researches, in the US with Ogden Rood and in France with Chevreul. The chromatic circle shows that opposite colors will be brighter if they are just near by. Seurat will get his inspiration from these researches, by using small dots of pure colors for his paintings.

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Paul Signac arrived in Saint Tropez in 1892 with its yacht L’Olympia.
He was so astonished by the light and colors that he decided to live here. 

« I have something to work with

all my life, it’s the happiness

I’ve just discovered. » - Paul Signac

He made of Saint Tropez the place to be for the artists. Matisse, Derain, Picabia came here to improve their skills and their work.
Many of them settled on the French Riviera, like Bonnard in Le Cannet, Renoir in Cagnes sur Mer, Matisse in Nice.

From this moment, artists found in the French Riviera an inspiration for their work.
Adrien Maeght contributed to the fame of the French Riviera with his museum : Fondation Maeght.
He started to build links with artists such as Matisse, Miro, Chagall, Bonnard. The result of this friendship is a wonderful place to discover the work of brilliant artists.

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Let the art be part of your trip !

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* Fondation Maeght in Saint Paul de Vence
* Picasso Museum in Antibes
* Chagall Museum, Matisse Museum, MOMAC in Nice
* Renoir Museum in Cagnes sur Mer
* Bonnard Museum in Le Cannet
* Annonciade Museum in Saint Tropez
* Mougins and Saint Paul de Vence for their art galleries and artists’ studios