Musée Henri Matisse

The Musée Matisse in Nice stands in the Cimiez district, on a hill above the city, in a villa that dates from the seventeenth century. The old tourist description of the building as a thirteenth-century castle is mistaken. The Villa des Arènes, as it is called, is a Genoese-style house painted in warm ochre and red, with trompe-l'œil decoration on the façade that imitates carved stone, and it sits in a garden of ancient olive trees close to the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre and the Franciscan monastery of Cimiez. The setting is peaceful and rather different from the busy seafront of the city below.

Henri Matisse had a long association with Nice. He first came in 1917, attracted by the light, and settled here for the greater part of his life, living for many years in hotels and apartments in the old town and in Cimiez, and he died in the city in 1954. He is buried in the cemetery beside the monastery of Cimiez, a short walk from the museum. The museum was opened in 1963 and the collection was built up through gifts from the artist, his family and heirs, together with works from the city, so that it covers his career in a way few other museums can.

The collection has nearly six hundred works. It starts with early paintings of the 1890s, from the time he was still developing his style, and includes still lifes, interiors and portraits, along with drawings, prints and sculptures. It follows his research into colour, line and form through the decades, and it includes the periods spent in Nice, with their light-filled interiors and models posing in decorated rooms. A highlight is the group of cut-outs, the large pieces of paper painted in gouache and cut with scissors, which occupied him in his last years when illness kept him in a chair. They show his move toward pure colour and simplified shape, and some of the best examples of this late period are kept here, along with the preparatory material for the decoration of the chapel at Vence.

The museum has a modern extension at the side, reached by a staircase from the garden, and there are also garden entrances for visitors with reduced mobility. The museum is closed on Tuesdays and a few public holidays, and opening hours shift with the season, so check before you go. A visit takes about an hour and a half, and the gardens are pleasant for a rest.

The archaeological museum and the Roman remains of Cimiez are next door, and the Musée Marc Chagall is also in Nice, so art lovers can combine them over a day. In the old town, the Cours Saladin market and the Cathédrale Saint-Nicolas provide a contrast, and the Promenade des Anglais and the Colline du Château give views over the bay. The museum suits anyone who loves modern art, colour and the story of the French Riviera.