Musée Matisse, Nice

About the Musée Matisse

The Musée Matisse is Nice's municipal museum devoted to Henri Matisse. Its collection is one of the world's largest and traces his whole career, from first steps to final works. It opened in 1963, built on gifts from Matisse himself, who lived in Nice from 1917 to 1954, and from his heirs.

The museum occupies the Villa des Arènes, a red Genoese mansion of 1670–1685 with yellow shutters and trompe-l'œil windows. It was built for the Nice consul Jean-Baptiste Gubernatis, and the city bought it in 1950 to save it. After renovation in 1993 a modern wing was added, so the museum can now show its entire permanent collection.

What to see

• Paintings and gouaches — from early still lifes to the Nice odalisques.
• Paper cut-outs — the bright late works.
• Sculpture — 57 pieces by the artist.
• Matisse's belongings — furniture, vases and fabrics he painted.
• The olive grove — Cimiez park around the villa.
• Cimiez monastery — a rose garden and a view of the city.

The collection

The collection holds 68 paintings and gouaches, 236 drawings, 218 prints, 57 sculptures, 14 illustrated books, photographs, tapestries, ceramics and stained glass. You can follow how Matisse changed: from dark early still lifes to the bright canvases of his 'Nice period' and on to the coloured-paper cut-outs of his last years, when he could no longer stand at the easel.

Most fascinating are the 187 objects that belonged to him: armchairs, vases, screens, fabrics and things that kept appearing in his paintings. Spotting on a canvas the same vase that sits in the display case beside it is one of this museum's great pleasures.

Cimiez hill

Cimiez is a quiet green district on a hill above Nice. In antiquity it was the Roman city of Cemenelum, capital of the province of Alpes Maritimae. Its ruins survive right by the museum, an arena, amphitheatre, baths and an early Christian basilica, with an archaeology museum in the next building. From 1974 to 2010 the Nice Jazz Festival was held among the ruins.

In the Belle Époque Cimiez became a resort for royalty: Queen Victoria, Edward VII and King Leopold II of Belgium all stayed here. Nearby stands the vast Excelsior Régina Palace, where the Queen lived during her Riviera visits.

Cimiez monastery

Five minutes from the museum is a Franciscan monastery and church, home to friars since the 16th century. The church has a Baroque altar and paintings from 1475–1515 by the Italian artist Ludovico Brea. In front of the monastery is a rose garden with a terrace overlooking all of Nice and the sea.

Behind the monastery is a quiet cemetery where Matisse and the painter Raoul Dufy are buried. Many visitors come here after the museum to pay their respects.

Tips for your visit

Allow an hour and a half to two hours for the museum, half a day for the whole of Cimiez with the ruins and monastery. The museum is usually closed on Tuesdays, so check before you go. The Nice museums ticket often covers several city museums.

The Musée Matisse fits naturally with the Chagall Museum and a walk through Vieux-Nice, so you see both the artist and the city he loved to paint.

The villa is small and can feel crowded on rainy days and weekends. The olive grove has benches and a playground, handy for a break with children.

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1 h 15 min · Ticket · 22 min walk

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How to do it right

• Closed Tuesdays.
• Pair it with Chagall.
• Rest in the olive grove.
• The monastery is next door.

Questions