Saint Paul de Vence and the Maeght Foundation

Saint Paul, artists village ! The tradition of art goes back to the early 20th century, when the 'painters of the light' came to settle in the South of France. Saint Paul was at that time a quiet traditional village, where a little inn could welcome travels and artists. The owner of the inn, Mr Roux and his wife were amators of art , and they felt that one day these artists (Matisse, Modigliani, Picasso...) would become famous.  The village today has kept its medieval athmosphere thanks to the walls of the 16th century that are surrunding it. Several boutiques and art galeries are displayed along the main street. Marc Chagall is burried in the cemetery.  

To stay in the artistic tradition of the place, in the 60'S,  Marguerite et Aimé Maeght opened a foundation dedicated to modern art. The idea was that artists could find a place to work, meet, exhibit and where the people could initiate to Modern Art. The Maeght  Foundation owns now more than 6,000 masterpieces (Chagall, Braque, Giacometti, Miro, Bonnard, Kelly,…) that are travelling throuh the world or are exhibited in the fabulous museum built by the spanish architect José Luis Sert. Two special exhibitions are shown every year in Spring and Summer.