“The diffused magic of the hot sweet South…the soft pawed night and the ghostly wash of the Mediterranean far below” is how F. Scott Fitzgerald evokes the French Riviera. The combination of luminosity, landscape and hedonism lured many great artists to the south of France from Vincent Van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir in the nineteenth century to Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall and Jean Cocteau in the twentieth century.
“One swims in the blue air” Claude Monet famously wrote. Well, prosaically the Friends of Kettle’s Yard didn’t swim, but flew from foggy Heathrow into the “blue air” of sunlit Nice, our base for exploring some thought-provoking, challenging and awe-inspiring art. The programme, superbly curated by organisers Sally and Nicki, had been exhaustively researched: we set out each day, confident that we would be inspired, challenged and entertained, that each new destination would reveal something fresh and different.
Our first morning set the tempo with a visit to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, a spectacular rose-coloured belle époque villa housing an eclectic collection of artefacts displayed in ornate salons, with sweeping views overlooking the bay and enchanting gardens. It felt as if we had stepped into a fantasy.
The reputation of Kettle’s Yard opens many a door in the art world, and this was literally the case when Fatima Maleki greeted us on the threshold of her extraordinary home. Fatima, a well-known collector and supporter of contemporary artists, spoke about her Iranian background and her route into collecting art. She invited us to wander at will around her house and so, we meandered through bedrooms, bathrooms and even the garage to admire the artworks in every space: Antony Gormley, Sarah Lucas, Raqib Shaw, Gilbert and George and Damien Hirst are all represented alongside younger artists (a small building on her property is made available to resident artists). The light-filled house is a shrine to contemporary design with poured concrete stairways, designer furniture and intriguing light fittings.
Our redoubtable organisers had searched out some great Niçoise restaurants where we were able to dine as a group if we wished or to branch out on our own. Many of us ate at La Colombe D’Or in St Paul de Vence, famously frequented by artists such as Picasso, Calder and Yves Klein who gifted or traded art for hospitality, meals and lodging at the inn. Before sitting at our table, we explored the diverse artworks hung throughout the building including the large Calder mobile overhanging the swimming pool. We were lucky enough to dine in the candlelit terrace, not only under the stars but under a large, colourful Fernand Léger ceramic.
Visiting Fondation Hartung-Bergman the following day was a voyage of discovery. Abstract artists Hans Hartung and Anna-Eva Bergman’s life story was as engaging as their paintings. Having met, married, divorced, and then met and married again, the couple settled in Antibes creating a living space and studio within a beautiful olive grove. Bergman’s works hang in light filled rooms, evoking the landscape and essence of her native Norway, while Hartung’s studio features his empty wheelchair set in front of a paint-splattered easel, which drew an emotional response from many of us (Hans was severely injured in the war fighting in the Foreign Legion).
The afternoon took us to the Fondation Maeght, the architects and designers among us delighting in the sculptural architecture of the buildings created by Josep Lluís Sert for the Maeght family. Galleries housing works by renowned 20th and 21st century artists embrace patios where etiolated Alberto Giacometti figures stalk. Art expert Mary-Lynn Riley guided us through the galleries, giving a deeper insight into works by Joan Miró, Christo and Pierre Bonnard, among others.
Our return from the Fondation led us to the numinous Chapelle du Rosaire, designed by Matisse, illuminated by his vibrant colours: a masterpiece of stained glass. And the following morning, by contrast, we visited Picasso’s Chapel of War and Peace, its austere mood, conveyed by powerful murals symbolising war and peace.
So much is said about the great male artists of the Riviera but we hear much less about women artists. This is now being redressed by art collector and philanthropist Christian Levett. His gallery, FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins Museum), is solely devoted to women’s art. Christian generously drove six hours from Italy to give us a personal tour of FAMM, where we found works by Impressionist Berthe Morisot and Surrealist Leonora Carrington brushing shoulders with contemporary artists Tracey Emin and Jenny Saville. Afterwards, Christian kindly invited us for tea in his rather marvellous mansion and urged us to wander around to view the art and artefacts in all the rooms. Alongside such ancient treasures as a bronze head of Caesar Augustus and a Greek warrior’s helmet, we saw a wonderful collection of Raoul Dufy paintings and sketches by Giacometti and Matisse. A Chagall was nonchalantly hung in the downstairs loo!
The next day took us on a journey along the coast to see iconic Modernist Villa E-1027 built in the 1920s by pioneering Irish architect and furniture designer Eileen Gray. Perched on the edge of a cliff this quirky retreat blends into the landscape: it was so tempting to fantasise about spending a summer there, relaxing in a hammock, soothed by the waves of the Mediterranean. Le Corbusier perhaps thought the same and, in 1951, he designed and built, with ingenious simplicity, his enchanting Cabanon right next door which exemplified his ideas of a ‘minimum cell’ for habitation.
Eventually we had to tear ourselves away from this idyll and take the train back to Nice, where, after a little breather, we moved on to the Musée National Marc Chagall, which houses the largest public collection of works by the Russian-French artist. Tour guide, Mary-Lynn Riley shed light on the paintings’ dense religious and spiritual symbolism while we basked in his dreamy colours.
Our last day came all too soon but, as we didn’t fly until the evening, we had time to drop in to the glass-blowing studio of Antoine Pierini, creator of extraordinary contemporary sculptures capturing the vibrant light and local landscape. Antoine forged a new piece in front of us, a powerful piece of theatre. We then lunched in Biot at a trestle table laid out in the village square and felt ourselves transported into a film by Jean Renoir, or a novel by Colette! Our final destination was the Musée National Fernand Léger, a painter inspired by the energy of the machine age and some say a forerunner of pop art.
The writer Henry Miller said “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of looking at things” and certainly this trip gave us all a new perspective. Thank you so much Sally and Nicki.
A selection of feedback from the trip
We loved the various examples of art in a domestic setting, which was of course what Jim Ede achieved in Kettle’s Yard
Chris F
Perhaps we should say there were no highlights, but rather a wonderfully curated whole, a continuum, where each visit reflected on its predecessor and was already setting up new contrasts or parallels with the visit to come.
Tim B
My first Friends of Kettle’s Yard trip and, for a photographer and lover of colour, every day was an inspiring visual spectacle. The Sert architecture of the Fondation Maeght showed his masterful use of texture and screening to control the intense Mediterranean light.
Kathryn W
In a daze of memories and admiration for Sally and Nicki…for designing an inspirational art experience. Thank you to the Friends of Kettle’s Yard for the volunteers, the companionship and the opportunity to travel and learn.
Heather W
Gallery
