By Matthew Wexler
French Riviera Week:
Your guide to the Côte d’Azur‘s cultural treasures
Picasso’s works can be found in the world’s most prestigious art museums. While famous paintings like Les Demoiselles d’Avignon at MoMA and The Old Guitarist at the Art Institute of Chicago deliver the wow factor you’d expect, they’re also displayed among thousands of other works that might feel dizzying to the average museum visitor. But at the Picasso Museum in Antibes Juan-les-Pins, it’s Picasso all day, every day.
The French Riviera has long attracted artists from all walks of life, from Cole Porter’s rollicking stays at the glamorous Hotel Belles Rives to Chagall’s secluded chateau in St. Paul de Vence. By the time Picasso took up temporary residence at Grimaldi Castle in 1946, by invitation from preservationist and curator Romuald Dor de la Souchère, his career was established. But who wouldn’t want a rent-free studio?
Post-World War II, supplies were scarce, but that didn’t stop the innovative artist, who worked with whatever he could get his hands on, including plywood, discarded enamel paint, and other found objects.
After two short months with his latest lover, Françoise Gaime Gilot (who would become a notable artist in her own right), Picasso returned to Paris, leaving 23 paintings and 44 sketches to the city, which would form the foundation for the museum. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, the collection has expanded to include sculptures, ceramics, and select works from other notable artists.
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‘La Joie de Vivre’
Of all of the works found in the museum, my gaze settled for the longest time on La Joie de Vivre. The painting nods to Matisse’s Le bonheur de vivre (The Joy of Life), painted 40 years earlier. Given the post-war circumstances and Picasso’s style, the muted palette of blues and pale yellow evokes a residual melancholy and a more mythological perspective.
It’s the kind of work that rewards a longer look—and in a museum this intimate, you’ll actually have the space to give it one.
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