The Fondation Maeght, the first Foundation for Modern and Contemporary Art in France, will be celebrating its 60th anniversary in the summer of 2024. As part of its anniversary year celebration, the Foundation Maeght will inaugurate a new 500 m2 space, from which it will display masterpieces from its collection, which includes pieces by Braque, Léger, Chagall, Miró, Calder, Mitchell and Kelly.
Friendship is at the heart of the Fondation Maeght’s creation: a site for and with artists
The Fondation Marguerite et Aimé Maeght is now one of the great international cultural institutions. Opened in 1964, the Foundation was born from the friendships between Aimé and Marguerite and several of the most important artists of the 20th century, including Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Fernand Léger, Georges Braque, Alberto Giacometti, Marc Chagall and many others.
A unique place inspired by the great American foundations
Bereaved by the death of their second child in 1953, Aimé and Marguerite Maeght, encouraged by Georges Braque, travelled to the United States, where they visited the great American references – Guggenheim, Barnes, Phillips – and returned full of ideas and ambitions which manifested itself in the creation of a foundation.
A masterpiece of modern architecture
In constant, close dialogue with Aimé Maeght, the architect Josep Lluís Sert designed a village architecture equally dedicated to artists and open and welcoming to art lovers. Josep Lluís Sert brought a modernist eye to the codes of the Mediterranean village – whiteness, earth, patios… Miró, Giacometti, Braque, Tal Coat, Chagall, and Ubac created works that are integrated into the building and its natural surroundings: the Giacometti courtyard, the Miró Labyrinth, the mosaic murals by Chagall and Tal-Coat, the pool and stained glass by Braque, the Bury fountain.
One of the most important collections in Europe
The Fondation Maeght has one of the most important collections of paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints by modern and contemporary artists in Europe, with over 13,000 masterpieces by Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miró, Pierre Bonnard, Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Georges Braque and many others.
Saint-Paul-de-Vence, the land of artists
Located in the heart of the French Riviera, the Fondation Maeght is 25 km from Nice, near the famous village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Provence, and that was for many years a favourite destination for artists; hence, Marc Chagall setting up home here.
It also lured Henri Matisse, who lived nearby in Vence, while Jean-Paul Sartre, Pablo Picasso, Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Lino Ventura and the poet Jacques Prévert were all regulars at the hotel-restaurant La Colombe d’Or. Today, Saint-Paul-de-Vence remains a very popular tourist destination, attracting over 2 million visitors a year.
The sculpture garden, a green oasis
As soon as visitors enter the Foundation, striding the lawns of the garden, they will be presented with a ceramic work by Fernand Léger, a playful fountain by Pol Bury, Alexander Calder’s monumental stabile and a wind sculpture by Takis.
The garden, enclosed within a mosaic wall by Pierre Tal-Coat, contains monumental sculptures that are locked in permanent dialogue. On display are pieces from Jean Arp, Eduardo Chillida, Erik Dietman, Barbara Hepworth, and Joan Miró, all harmonising with the rhythm of the seasons.
In addition, there are other works incorporated directly into the buildings. They include the mosaic Les Amoureux (The Lovers) by Marc Chagall on the bookshop wall and stained-glass windows by Georges Braque and Raoul Ubac that illuminate the St Bernard chapel. Not to mention Miró’s extraordinary labyrinth-garden, where visitors are led by an Ariadne’s thread as soon as they enter the Foundation.
The Fondation Maeght: a place of living art at the crossroads of art, fashion, music and dance
For over 60 years, and with more than 150 exhibitions featuring the great artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, the Fondation Maeght has truly impacted the history and dissemination of art with its unique vision. “Les Nuits de la Fondation Maeght”, a major event in contemporary music and dance, welcomed artists as singular and innovative as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, Terry Riley, la Merce Cunningham Dance Company, John Cage, Jasper Johns, Robert Morris, and Frank Stella.
2024: a summer of celebrations
To celebrate this anniversary, the Fondation Maeght is hosting a special summer exhibition entitled “Amitiés, Bonnard-Matisse.” The exhibition focuses on the friendly and respectful relationship between Pierre Bonnard and Henri Matisse and their links with the Maeght family. In addition, the Foundation will be opening new exhibition spaces and displaying a selection of highlights from its collection.
Finally, the Fondation Maeght is planning a month of celebrations that will include concerts, dance performances, lectures, documentary films, and more. In the shade of the Foundation’s Aleppo pines, the restaurant-café “Sous les Pins,” with furniture designed by Diego Giacometti, offers a gourmet and committed cuisine showcasing the products of the Nice terroir.
Lead image: The Cour Giacometti, Alberto Giacometti. Photo Olivier Amsellem – Archives Fondation © Succession Alberto Giacometti / ADAGP, Paris 2024.