Art Museums in Nice, France

"Woman reading at a yellow table", by Matisse

While in Nice, I bought a 3-day museum pass for 15 euros, which allowed me to visit 10 of the city's museums, and turned out to be a great bargain, since I'd been planning to see many of them anyway. What was surprising is that the two big name museums, the Matisse and the Chagall museums, were the most disappointing.

The Matisse Museum had very few of his paintings at all, and only a couple of his later, more colorful pieces. I had really hoped to see his scenes of life on the Cote d'Azur, but none were included in this collection. Similarly, I was led astray about the Chagall Museum by an online review that stated the museum has the largest collection of Chagall's work in the world. Absolutely not true! There are 12 very large paintings of biblical scenes and 6 other paintings that refer to the "Song of Songs". But the room where those six paintings were located was closed, as were several other rooms. Due to the various closures, entry was free that day, (this museum is not included in the 3-day pass), so at least there was that. Basically, I got to see 12 large paintings that were not the colorful, whimsical works I had hoped to see. 

Getting to these two museums is easy enough if you know which buses to take, which I did. But they are both across town from the city center, and up a steep hill, so those who try walking to the museums are often put out when they arrive and find little to see.

A few lesser museums I visited were a nice surprise. Musee Massena is housed in a majestic villa on the Promenade des Anglais, and surrounded by a lush garden. It houses a collection of historical artifacts about Nice's history, from the end of the 1800s through to 1930 and the end of the Belle Epoque.

Musee Massena

Musee des Beaux Arts de Jules Cheret houses a collection of six centuries of art, including works by Bronzino, Bruegel the elder, Fragonard and many others. It also has an important collection of the painter and poster artist Jules Cheret, for whom the museum was named.

The two museums that turned out to have the most fascinating exhibits were Palais Lascaris and MAMAC, The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Palais Lascaris is a 17th century baroque villa that was once home to the Lascaris family, and is still furnished as it was then. Many frescoes adorn the rooms, still in pristine condition. A vast collection of musical instruments is housed there, as well as a current exhibit by the fabric artist odon. 

One of odon's pieces.

After having a heart attack at mid-life, the artist Guy Hudoin changed his life, his name, and the focus of his art away from tragedy. Odon became a master at intricately braiding pieces of paper that he painted on both sides into elaborate designs. 

Another work by odon.

Seeing his unique works of art hanging amidst 17th century furnishings provided a remarkable contrast. 

The MAMAC has a large collection of many great works of modern art, which I'm usually not a big fan of. But I thoroughly enjoyed perusing the art in this museum, and was especially entranced by the work of Niki de Saint Phalle, who donated much of her work to the MAMAC in 2002, the year before she died. Her work initially focused on violent themes, and she was considered an "outsider" artist as a result of her controversial pieces. But much like odon, she moved away from tragedy and towards work that represented modern woman in all her fabulous forms. Over time, her figures became more joyful, whimsical and colorful. 

Unfortunately,  my phone was broken when I visited the MAMAC and Chagall museums, and I'm currently unable to access the photos I took with my digital camera of those exhibits. I hope to add photos at a later date. In the meantime, there are many images and explanations of the biblical scenes in the Chagall Museum online. You can also find  information about the life and work of Niki de Saint Phalle and odon. Enjoy doing some research on your own to learn more about them!

In any case, Nice is definitely a city of art, with many wonderful museums and exhibits that will appeal to every taste.