In the Footsteps of Matisse in Nice
Artist Henri Matisse was known for his use of intense colour: we follow in his footsteps along the Côte d’Azur to see where his inspiration came from…
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Henri Matisse was born in 1869 in the Nord town of Le Cateau-Cambrésis. The oldest son of a wealthy Picardie merchant’s family, at the age of 18 he travelled to Paris to study law, not embarking upon the artistic path that would see him become one of France’s best-loved modernist painters until he was 20.
Matisse’s work in Paris and numerous travels in the 1890s to places such as Corsica, Morocco and London, where he studied the paintings of J.M.W. Turner, began to develop the love of bold colour and shape for which he became known. Despite some 26 years in Paris, during which time Matisse created many of the vivid works that led him to become known as one of the Fauves, or ‘wild beasts’, it was arguably the next 37 years that he spent on the Côte d’Azur that shaped both his artistic and personal life most strongly.
Strolling along the palm-tree-lined Promenade des Anglais in Nice, it’s easy to see why Matisse fell in love with the city so quickly. The painter visited in the winter of 1917 while recuperating from bronchitis, intending to stay only long enough for his health to improve. He spent most of his visit in his room at the Hôtel Beau Rivage, but even there the light and colour of the Mediterranean coast made its presence felt. As he observed in a letter to his wife, Amélie, back in Paris: “[…] from my open window you can see the top of a palm tree” and “sky and sea blue-blue-blue”.
The move to Nice
It didn’t take long for Matisse to decide to stay longer, taking studio space at 105 Quai des États-Unis, just around the corner from his hotel, and later a suite at the extravagant Art Deco confection that was the Palais de la Méditerranée – now the Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Méditerranée – just a touch further along the Promenade des Anglais. “When I realised that every morning I would see this light again, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was,” he wrote. The views of the world-famous Baie des Anges must have been superb, and that deep azure blue of sea and sky became a key colour in Matisse’s palette. Interestingly, though, the majority of his work from this time is of interiors, with very few landscapes. A little further along the sea front is Nice’s Old Town with its narrow, amber-hued alleyways. It’s not hard to imagine Matisse walking these streets and dining on Niçoise specialities such as pissaladière and raviolis in cosy restaurants just like family-owned Chez Acchiardo, which has been on the same spot since 1927. It was in this area of Nice that the painter made his home. From 1921 to 1938, he took an apartment in the grand building at 1 Place Charles Félix, with its views of the vibrant fruit and flower stalls of the market on Cours Saleya. On nearby Rue Desire-Nil, he converted a garage into a studio in which he used all the available space when working on the huge work, La Danse, its scale and sense of movement matched only by the intensity of its azure and terracotta hues.
Up the hill in the Cimiez district (thankfully on a bus route that makes a long, hot climb on foot unnecessary these days!) are several landmarks for Matisse- lovers to visit. The Musée Matisse has its own bus stop and is a must-see, home as it is to one of the world’s largest collections of the artist’s works. It’s a fascinating museum, as is the building in which it is situated – the 17th-century Villa des Arènes which is named after the Roman arena and amphitheatre that were located here. Centuries-old olive groves dotted with ruins still stretch out around the ochre villa and the Musée d’Archéologie de Nice Cimiez that also sits here. The graveyard of the Franciscan Monastery of Cimiez is where Matisse is buried in a simple tomb shared with his wife, Amélie despite the fact that she divorced him for suspected infidelity in 1939. From the monastery gardens, the sparkle of the coast is just visible, not far from the Vieux Port where Matisse reputedly ventured out every day in a canoe, dressed in his habitual smart jacket and trousers.
Just a short walk across the road from the Musée Matisse stands what used to be the Hotel Regina, built originally as a luxury hotel to welcome Queen Victoria. Here, Matisse rented two third-floor apartments from 1938 and made it both home and studio space. The apartments that were once his went on sale in June 2023 priced at €2.48m.
If Nice was the final resting place of Matisse’s earthly remains, his spirit surely resides in his masterpiece, the Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence. Just an hour’s bus journey from the beaches of Nice, Vence is surrounded by the rolling landscape of the Baous, as the hills are known locally. Matisse moved to the town in 1943 to escape the threat of Nazi occupation that was looming over Nice. His former nurse, friend and erstwhile muse, Monique Bourgeois, had chosen to enter the town’s Dominican convent and Matisse – far from physically healthy at this point – soon found himself involved in an ambitious project to create a new chapel for the convent.
A divine project
While in Vence, Matisse lived in the Villa Le Rêve, before eventually moving back to the Regina where he had more space for the large models his chapel projects soon required. These days Le Rêve is rather appropriately a retreat for artists, and both it and the chapel sit on what was quickly named Avenue Henri Matisse. Reputedly, this greatly irritated Matisse’s rival, Marc Chagall, who lived for some time in nearby Saint-Paul-de-Vence. While not a traditionally religious man, Matisse felt that his work on the chapel was a spiritual journey. “I began with the profane and now, in the evening of my days, I am ending quite naturally with the divine”.
The Chapelle du Rosaire is a place of devotion, filled with serenity. It is the place where Matisse’s dedication to light. and colour come together in a physical space. Matisse’s career may not have ended with this chapel, but it does feel as though his physical ascent from the coast to the town of Vence also marked an artistic apotheosis.
NICE ESSENTIALS
CONTACTS
GETTING THERE
- Lara travelled to Nice with easyJet. Flights available from £18 each way.
WHERE TO STAY AND EAT IN NICE
- Chez Acchiardo, 38 Rue Droite, 06300 Nice, Tel: (33) 04 93 85 51 16, Open daily 12pm-11pm
Classic Niçoise specialities in a cosy family- owned restaurant. Mains from €17.
- Peixes, 4 Rue de l’Opéra and 5 Rue Bonaparte 06300 Nice, Tel: (33) 04 93 85 96 15. Open 12pm-10pm Monday to Saturday.
An innovative modern twist on fish and seafood. Mains from €13.
- Hôtel Nice Beau Rivage, 24 Rue Saint-François de Paule 06300 Nice, Tel: (33) 04 92 47 82 82 Doubles from €99 including breakfast.
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Lead photo credit : Old Nice and the Baie des Anges
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By Lara Dunn
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