Fondation Marguerite et Aimé Maeght

Sixty years of history and renewal

This summer the Fondation Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence celebrates its anniversary by opening four new exhibition rooms for its permanent collection and hosting several concerts.

By Tanja Stojanov

To understand what Fondation Maeght represents, we have to go back to its origin in 1964. The Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain in Nice didn’t exist in those days; nor did the Fondation Hartung-Bergman in Antibes or the Fondation Bacon in Monaco. The Fondation Maeght was a pioneer, the first contemporary art foundation in France. Parisian gallery owners Marguerite and Aimé Maeght commissioned architect Josep Lluis Sert to design the building. It was something of a precursor for sustainable building: “The impluviums on the roof, which give the building its particular allure, used to collect rainwater, and the entire Fondation is no taller than an adult pine tree,” enthuses Isabelle Maeght. The Fondation is celebrating not only its 60^th anniversary and more than 150 exhibitions over those years, but also the opening of a new exhibition floor after four years of major renovation work. The new extension, designed by architect Silvio d’Ascia, preserves the building’s personality because it is practically invisible, at basement level underneath the existing exhibition rooms.

Mitchell, Kelly and Baya

The 600m² of new floor space (including 80m² of converted pre-existing space) adds to the original 850m². The new space will house the 13,000-plus artworks of the permanent collection. Among the delights to be enjoyed are the rare books (Adrien Maeght was a publisher by trade and the books he produced with artists are among the Fondation’s greatest treasures) and the two large rooms dug out underneath the Giacometti and Miró courtyards, with panoramic windows looking south into the pine wood. ”For this first show, we have brought together the models artists made for the building of the Fondation, works by Braque, Léger, Chagall and Miró that were shown at the first exhibition in 1964, works by Joan Mitchell and Ellsworth Kelly, and a donation by Baya,” enthuses Isabelle Maeght, the Fondation’s administrator. “At the opening,” she adds, “Malraux explained how the place was born of love and for the love of art and artists. That day, there was a concert with Ella Fitzgerald and Yves Montand, who was a friend. And I remember the day Duke Ellington arrived and Miró showed him around even though he couldn’t speak English. That’s how The Duke wrote Blues for Miró, based on the chirping of the cicadas.” A host of events are scheduled for this summer in memory of those times: a jazz concert with Gilles Peterson, a rock night with Pete Doherty or a DJ on 28 July, the actual day of the anniversary. Along with dance, readings and poetry for a happy 60^th birthday.