By Matthew Wexler
French Riviera Week:
Your guide to the Côte d’Azur‘s cultural treasures
A landmark Matisse exhibit is coming to Baltimore in spring 2026, but for the full immersion—Fauvist paintings, personal artifacts, and colors so saturated you’ll want to eat them—the Musée Matisse in Nice remains unmatched.
Matisse was formally trained in Paris, but it was his time in Corsica and Toulouse that shaped his artistic palette. By 1905, he had become associated with the “Fauves” (wild beasts), deeply saturated pigments, and bold brushwork. (If brushes were used at all, sometimes the paint was applied directly from the tube.)
The museum is located in the historic Villa Garin de Cocconato, just steps from where Matisse lived at the Régina Hotel. It also showcases the artist’s personal collection of furniture, tools, and pieces by other artists. An avid traveler, Matisse drew inspiration from his global expeditions, including to North Africa and French Polynesia, which influenced his work.
Must-see works at Musée Matisse
The museum’s collection includes iconic paintings, nearly 500 drawings and prints, dozens of cut-outs and sculptures, and hundreds of elements he never used. Be sure to scope out these treasures:
Le Serf — The only male nude sculpture the artist made. Look closely, and you’ll see the artist’s fingerprints intentionally left in the experimental work.
Danseuse créole — Dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham likely inspired this 1950 painting, as did his longtime interest in Afro-American culture.
Nu Bleu IV — The last in a series of cut-outs, the work shows an artist in process, featuring visible pencil strokes and alignment adjustments. It also amplifies Matisse’s exactness in pigmentation, a color so intoxicating he once described it as “so blue that you want to eat it.”
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Fast facts: Musée Matisse
For the full Matisse experience—wild colors, personal artifacts, and a chapel exhibit heading stateside—Nice is worth the journey.
- 164 avenue des Arènes de Cimiez, Nice
- musee-matisse-nice.org/en
Matisse exhibits coming to the U.S. in 2026
Matisse in Vence: The Stations of the Cross — Musée Matisse is sending this exhibition to the U.S. for the first time, showcasing the large-scale ceramic panel Matisse created for the Chapel of the Rosary. Expect never-before-seen archival documents and drawings of his creative process.
Baltimore Museum of Art, March 29–June 28, 2026
Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color — The complete Jazz portfolio goes on view for the first time since the museum acquired it in 1948. Bedridden after surgery in the early 1940s, Matisse turned to cut paper, drawing from memories of Parisian music halls, the circus, and Tahiti to create 20 vibrant maquettes that unified color and line like never before.
The Art Institute of Chicago, March 7–June 1, 2026
