A little bowl of art and fresh air for the Côte d'Azur: the Maeght Foundation, located near the village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, has announced the reopening to the public of its art gardens from Monday February 8.
The news is a surprise in one of the departments most affected by the wave of Covid-19 this winter: the Alpes-Maritimes.
Following in the footsteps of the Rodin Museum in Paris, whose garden has been visited again since January 16, the foundation has obtained authorization from the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture to receive visitors, in this setting where Mediterranean nature talks, to the shade of the pines, with the monumental works of some of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.
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“
We said to each other: and why not us too?
», Nicolas Gitton, director of the foundation, told AFP.
The Miró labyrinth, a route of works in ceramic, iron, bronze and even reinforced cement, signed by the Spanish painter, has just been restored.
February traditionally marks the start of the season, with 200 visitors per day: "
If we have 100, we will be very happy, knowing that the foreign visitors are not there,
" he told AFP.
The crisis due to Covid-19 and the obligation last year to close until July 1 for three and a half months, then again on October 30, caused "
a huge shortfall
" for the foundation.
She has used the loan guaranteed by the state and is using short-time working as much as possible to keep her back.
"
Fortunately, in 2019, we had a beautiful Miro exhibition which made it possible to build up reserves, which are very useful in 2020,
" added Nicolas Gitton.
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The next big exhibition, dedicated to the Giacometti family, is scheduled from July 3.
The foundation hopes to reopen its front rooms.
In the absence of a temporary exhibition, we could discover an exceptional hanging of works from the collections, in particular two very beautiful abstract sculptures by Belgian Pol Bury, rarely shown.
Cultural pillar of the Côte d'Azur and a must-see with the Nice museums Chagall, Matisse and Mamac or the Picasso museum in Antibes, the Maeght foundation, opened in 1964, lives exclusively on public entry, without subsidy.
It receives around 130,000 visitors per year, 60% of whom are foreigners.