The Matisse Museum is located in Cimieux, a former suburb of Nice, now its neighbourhood, where the great artist lived for almost forty years, where he died and is buried.
Henri Matisse moved to Nice in 1917 on the advice of doctors who were concerned about the effects of his bronchitis. He was already a celebrated painter, the founder of Fauvism, and a mature family man. Nice captured Matisse at once. At first he lived in the Hotel Beau-Rivage on the Quai des Eta-Uni. Matisse recounted: when he realised that every morning he would be able to see that light over the sea and the colour of the waves in the Bay of Angels ("fantastic, incredible"), he could not believe his luck. Colour was extremely important to Matisse. Picasso believed that only two artists truly understood what colour is - Chagall and Matisse.
Entertainment resort town did not bother Matisse: in his spare time he preferred not to go to the casino, but to do rowing, was an active member of the local sports club. But mostly, of course, he worked. The gracious peace after the First World War and the paradisiacal beauty of Nice had an inspiring effect: Matisse created many paintings here, in which colour still played a major role. On these canvases - the blue sea, yellow lemons, black Viennese chairs, pink and green summer umbrellas, women on a bright background in a sensual series of "Odalisques."
The years of life in the south of France included and hard times: separation from his wife, cancer surgery, after which he no longer got up from a wheelchair, the Second World War (for apolitical Matisse was a blow to the arrest of his daughter for participation in the Resistance).
After the war, the most important work for Matisse was the design of the chapel of the Rosary in the neighbouring Nice Vance. Matisse died in 1954, and nine years later Nice opened his museum. The museum was started by the artist himself, who presented the city with the painting "Still Life with Pomegranates", several drawings, two silk-screen prints and a paper-cut "Creole Dancer". Matisse began to use this now fashionable decoupage technique after an operation, when it became difficult for him to paint with paints.
Now the museum collection includes 68 paintings (including decoupage), more than 200 drawings, more than 200 engravings, 57 sculptures by Matisse, as well as stained glass, tapestries, books, photographs, ceramics, personal belongings of the artist. On the first floor, a separate room is dedicated to the Chapel of the Rosary.
The building that houses the museum is a rich ochre-coloured Genoese villa built in the 17th century. It stands on the hill of Cimieux, with Nice below, the city that Matisse fell in love with once and for all.
