THE 5 TREASURES TO DISCOVER AFTER CONFINEMENT
# 1 The Maeght Foundation
Art makes us happy. To escape during this confinement, we spend time on our computers. And despite the essential articles from AD magazine which offer us a new virtual visit every day, this experience leaves us a little hungry ...
At Athilie we decided to highlight 5 numbers on cult places that combine art, architecture and people through photos, testimonies, videos too little known by the general public.
We start today with our favorite: The Foundation of Aimé and Marguerite Maeght in Saint-Paul de Vence.
Aimé and Marguerite Maeght Foundation, Saint-Paul De Vence
A UNIQUE PLACE: A FOUNDATION RATHER THAN A MUSEUM
The Maeght Foundation is the first private foundation dedicated to art in France. Inaugurated in 1964 by André Malraux , is the fruit of the friendship between the visionary couple Aimé and Marguerite Maeght, publishers and art dealers, with some of the greatest artists of the 20th century such as Joan Miró , Alexander Calder , Fernand Léger , Georges Braque , Alberto Giacometti , Marc Chagall and many others. The Maeght Foundation has the largest collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphic works of modern art and contemporary artists in France.
The Georges Braque basin, The fish
“ Here is attempted something that has never been attempted: to create the universe in which modern art could find its place at the same time and this underworld which was once called the supernatural. "
André Malraux
The Maeght Foundation by architect Joseph Lluis Sert
WORK IN WORK: A MEDITERRANEAN AND AVANT-GARDISTIC ARCHITECTURE
Aimé Maeght decides to entrust his big project to the architect Josep Lluís Sert : the realization of the first private foundation. Josep Lluís Sert is a Spanish architect.
He studies in Barcelona there he will draw his first influences with Gaudí then the Bauhaus . The meeting with Le Corbusier will be decisive in his life. He went to join him in 1928 in Paris to work alongside him. Sert will assist him in the realization of the Carpenter Center of the Visual Arts at Harvard University (1962), the only building constructed in the United States by Le Corbusier and Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente .
Recognized worldwide as one of the greatest architects of his time, in 1981 he received the Gold Medal from the American Institute of Architects .
Joseph Luis Sert and Aimé Maeght
AN INNOVATIVE FOUNDATION
The Maeght Foundation is not a museum, their artist friends would come to work and exchange there as much as to exhibit. It is in a constant and close dialogue with Aimé Maeght but also with the artists present that Sert places man at the center of his architecture both dedicated to artists and open to art lovers.
It reinterprets Mediterranean codes, whiteness, earth, patios ... The Mediterranean inexhaustible source of inspiration, notably from the great contemporary couturiers Louis Vuitton , Pierre Cardin , JACQUEMUS .
Natural and indirect lighting conducive to contemplation. Eco-friendly, they installed the first heat pump in France and supplied the basins with rainwater recovered thanks to the impluvium roofs.
Relive the Louis Vuitton fashion show at the Maeght Foundation on video
Aimé and Marguerite Maeght Foundation, Saint-Paul De Vence
ARCHITECTURE AND NATURE
The different spaces fully integrated into nature offer endless possibilities for circulation and breathing. Nothing is repeated, everything is in harmony.
The openings of different sizes, the steps, the wrapped rooms and the passageways make you lose track of time. The sun runs through the Foundation throughout the day from East to West, offering all the nuances of light.
Sert has created a unique and timeless architecture which allows the visitor to discover the works presented and the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding nature, the forest, the mountains, the sea. A unique place.
Watch the Louis Vuitton show at the Maeght Foundation on video
The Caress of a Bird by Joan Miró
“The artists have implemented a scouring language. This is what makes the generosity of our time. They don't cheat. They don't cheat so much that they look like their work. "
Aimé Maeght
The Walking Man by Alberto Giacometti
At the end of confinement, meet in this wonderful Foundation at 623 Chemin des Gardettes, 06570 Saint-Paul-de-Vence.
In the meantime, meet every day at 2.30 p.m. on Yoyo Maeght's Instagram page . The little girl of Aimé Maeght, tells us with passion The Saga Maeght.
https://www.fondation-maeght.com/
Sources: Fondation Maeght , Le Monde , Journal La Croix.