We had to see some museums before the first week got away from us, right? So today we visited both the Chagall and Matisse museums in Nice. Both artists spent time here and left their mark.
Navigating the wonderful tram and bus systems (New York, you again have a lot to apologize for!), we found a rich display of Chagall’s biblical works, along with a special exhibit of paintings which have been made in Gobelin tapestries. The texture added a wonderful dimension to his work, which is always mystical and magical. Of course, he also worked in stained glass, mosaic tiles and oils. Prolific and powerful.
The Matisse museum was less endowed, though this lovely house has the benefit of being situated among Roman ruins, on a street oddly named after Duke Ellington. (Lot going on there.) Matisse lived in a different building on the old city, but some of his artifacts and works are housed here. No photos allowed! Of course, having just seen the Matisse show at MOMA this winter, we have already had the privilege of seeing some of his most fabulous cut-out masterpieces.
Amusingly, what this museum was given by the Matisse family was a collection of 400 scraps from the cut-outs that were NOT used in his work. But we agreed that we would settle for a Matisse scrap any day.
This was moving day for us. Having acclimated ourselves to the city, we were now ready for our HomeAway rental, which we will occupy for a week. Our apartment is very close to the port, right in the antiques and gallery section of the old city. Our landlord is a young entrepreneur – Mortimer! – whose taste in art was formed during his one trip to New York, where he fell in love with two paintings which now adorn this apartment. Go know. Will report whether the New York one gives us nightmares. Otherwise, it’s a lovely place, all modern with good internet, and close to a huge Monoprix, where we went to stock our fridge.
All set for the next part of our adventure!