The French Riviera is where Pablo Picasso lived the last years of his life.
Even today, the French Riviera celebrates the Spanish painter through museums and exhibitions.
The French Riviera is where Pablo Picasso lived the last years of his life.
Even today, the French Riviera celebrates the Spanish painter through museums and exhibitions.
ANTIBES
In 1946, Picasso settled in Antibes, renting the Grimaldi Castle. Here, he worked intensively and produced numerous drawings, paintings and sculptures. He even went so far as to paint the walls of the chateau and put his signature in the foundations of the structure.
Due to its importance in Picasso’s artistic creation, the Chateau Grimaldi has become a museum, a place of worship for art lovers. In fact, in addition to Picasso’s drawings, paintings and sculptures, one can admire the works of artists who worked in the region, such as Hans Hartung and Nicolas de Staël.
VALLAURIS
Vallauris is known for being the town of ceramics, thanks to its statues, museums and workshops. But the town linked to Picasso, as it was in Vallauris that the Spanish artist discovered and began working with ceramics. Working with local artisans, Picasso quickly mastered the technique and created many pieces.
But Picasso never forgot painting. In fact, in 1953, he painted “War and Peace” on a chapel wall. And it was here that the Musée National Picasso was later established, where works and photographs of the painter are displayed.
CANNES
When Picasso visited Cannes in the 1940s, he was so attracted by the beauty of the French Riviera that he decided to spend time there. In the 1950s he settled in Villa Californie, in the Costebelle neighborhood. His studio overflows with portraits and landscapes seen from a window.
In 1955, Picasso created a sculpture as a tribute to the city of Cannes. It is a bronze work entitled “La Joie de Vivre” (The Joy of Living), which stands on the Croisette promenade, facing the sea. This sculpture depicts a woman holding a bouquet of flowers, a symbol of the city’s elegance and beauty.
MOUGINS
It was in Mougins that Pablo Picasso died, on April 8, 1973, at the age of 91. Settling there in 1961, the painter spent the last years of his life in his large stone house called “Notre-Dame-de-Vie,” which has now become a museum dedicated to the artist’s memory and houses a collection of Picasso’s paintings, sculptures and drawings.