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Museums in Nice
The French Riviera’s capital is not just about sun and sea. Nice has a great range of museums and art galleries guaranteed to inspire the most demanding of visitors. The Galleries des Ponchette are renowned for their displays of French and foreign masterpieces from the 19th Century. The gallery also includes work by gifted new artists with a penchant for modern and contemporary art. Modern art is best represented at the Matisse Museum housed in the building Matisse called home. The museum itself is a masterpiece to Italian architectural style. The Matisse collection within its walls includes numerous works of art along with some furniture and other objects, which featured in his paintings. The Theatre of Photography and Images is also well worth including on your itinerary. This gallery contains a large selection of photographs of the city between 1863 and 1866. Works by famous, international 20th-century photographers fare also in abundance. Other noteworthy cultural haunts include Museum-Gallery Alexis and Gustav Adolf Mossa and the Musée franciscain et monastère de Cimiez.
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Villa Arson
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Address: 20, Avenue Stephen Liégard
Phone: +33 4 92 077 373
e-mail: cnac@villa-arson.org
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Website: http://www.villa-arson.org
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Founded in 1970 under the auspices of Ministry of Culture, Villa Arson is an international school of art, educating succeeding generations of young talented painters. This lovely 18th-century-style villa also serves as an artists' residence and organises regular exhibitions, mostly displaying contemporary art.
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Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
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Address: Promenade des Arts
Phone: +33 4 9713 4201
e-mail: mamac@ville-nice.fr
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Website: http://www.mamac-nice.org
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The Musee d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain also known as the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum is housed just a stone's throw from an Acropolis Convention Centre in am impressive building with marble towers.The museum hosts an impressive collection of French and American works of art from the 60s until present day. The exhibition includes artwork by such famous names as: Andy Warhol, Jean Tinguely, Yves Klein, Roy Lichtensteinand Niki de Saint-Phalle. In the museum there can be also found several works from the local school of art (Ecole de Nice). In front of the museum there is a characteristic sculpture entitled 'La Tête au Carré' (Head in the trolley), created by New Yorker, sculptor and artist Sacha Sosno. With its 26 metres high it is a house of the large, three-storey Central Library of Nice. On the top of the building there is a roof terrace and a garden known as the Jardin d'Eden (Garden of Eden) from where you can admire the magnificent panorama of the city.
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Musée International d'Art Naïf Anatole-Jakovsky
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Address: Chàteau Sainte-Hélène
Phone: +33 4 93 717 833
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Website: http://www.nice.fr/mairie_nice_198
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Housed in an old manor house within the Château Ste-Helène, the site shows a varied collection of naive art showing its progression from the 18th Century until today. It was founded in 1982 by famous Ukrainian art critic, Anatole Jakovsky, who actually created the term of 'naive art' and devoted all his life to promote it. The museum hosts his personal collection of over 600 sketches and canvases by such great names as: Braque, Picasso or Zadkine. The exhibition shows the full spectrum of naive art from the 18th Century until now represented by artists from all over the world.
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Musée-Galerie d' Alexis at Gustav Adolf Mossa
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Address: 59, Quai des Etats-Unis
Phone: +33 4 93 62 37 11
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The surname of Mossa is strictly linked with the history of Nice and the city's cultural heritage. Mossa was a renowned Belle Epoque watercolour painter inspired by symbolism and Art Nouveau. He was also the founding father of the famous carnaval procession in Nice that still exists and every year attracts many tourists from all over the world. The son of Alexis, Gustav Adolf Mossa, followed the path of his father and also has been known as a talented artist. Both of them were very tied to Nice and much of their work represents the city and its surroundings. The Museum exhibits an impressive collection of paintings by both of these marvelous artists, with the main hall completely devoted to the soft pastel images of Nice.
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Prieuré du Vieux Logis
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Address: 59 ave Saint Barthélémy
Phone: +33 4 97 133 415
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The Prieuré du Vieux-Logis is a traditional 19th-century Nicoise villa which, was converted into a museum at the beginning of the 1930s. Nowadays it hosts an impressive collection of devotional articles and sacred art dating back to the medieval times. The exhibits mostly derive from 16th and 17th Century, however the most precious is a superb 15th-century 'Pietà flamande' whose author and origins remain unknown. There is also an interesting display of Renaissance 16th-century furniture and regional crafts from Provence and environs.
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Galerie de la Marine (Naval Museum)
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Address: Tour Bellanda, up 214
Phone: +33 4 93 623 711
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A visit to Galerie de la Marine is a real must for all sea and sailing lovers. This spacious museum hosts a breath-taking collection of beautiful ship models, antique nautical instruments, engravings and paintings. There is also a large roof-top terrace with a beautiful view overlooking the sunny beaches of Nice. The Naval Museum houses up to the 214 step of the Bellanda Tower, built in 1860 at the seat of the former tower pulled down by King Louis XVII. The exhibition include precious antique navigational instruments, boats, arms, scale models, paintings, and engravings all reflecting the ancient naval power of France.
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Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall
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Address: Ave du Docteur Ménard
Phone: +33 4 93 53 87 20
e-mail: museecie@rmn.fr
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Website: http://www.musee-chagall.fr/
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The Musee Chagall in Nice boasts the world's largest collection of works by Marc Chagall. The museum was created in 1973 to commemorate this famous Russian-born painter who spent the rest of his life in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, not far away from Nice. Among the exhibits there is a number of paintings, drawings and sculptures inspired by Jewish folklore. There can be also found superb stained glass windows, decorating the concert hall, and a splendid mosaic created by Chagall specifically for this building. Apart from numberless preparatory sketches, engravings and lithographs the museum also displays several works by other artists, which have been acquired by Chagall prior to his death in 1985 and after this by the museum itself. They include for example an impressive selection of 17 Biblical Message paintings by Henri Matissee. In the museum there is a cafeteria and a small gift store where you can buy various books, albums, posters and gadgets all connected with Chagall and his art.
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Matisse Museum
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Address: 164 ave des Arénes de Cimiez
Phone: +33 4 93 81 08 08
e-mail: matisse@ville-nice.fr
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Website: http://www.musee-matisse-nice.org
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Henri Matisse called Nice his second home after Paris and spent there a large part of his life from 1917 until his death in 1954. The Matisse Museum is housed in the charming 17th-century Italian-style villa surrounded by a picturesque olive garden close to the Hotel Regina, where Matisse used to live during his time in Nice. Attracting attention with its distinctive red walls the museum hosts a remarkable collection of Matisse's works, including numerous paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs,as well as furniture and objects that featured in his pictures. The museum displays the whole spectrum of artist's works from his student years to those he did before his death. The most famous exhibits are entitled 'Still Life with Pomegranates and Flowers' and 'Fruits'.
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