Musée Matisse

The Musée Matisse in Nice, France, is a municipal museum devoted to the work of French painter Henri Matisse. It holds one of the world's largest collections of his art, tracing his artistic evolution from his early career to his final pieces. The museum opened in 1963 and is situated in the Villa des Arènes, a seventeenth-century Genoese villa located in the neighborhood of Cimiez.

The museum was established in 1963, initially occupying only the first floor of the Villa des Arènes, while the ground floor housed the local archaeological museum. In 1989, the archaeological museum relocated to a modern building on the site of the ancient Roman ruins of Cemenelum. This move allowed the Musée Matisse to expand. The museum subsequently closed for four years of renovations and the construction of a modern wing, reopening in 1993 with renovated spaces that allowed its entire permanent collection to be exhibited. The collection has grown continuously since 1963 through successive acquisitions and donations, including a 2025 donation of the painting Nature morte à la statuette africaine, the first painted work by Matisse to enter the collection since the museum's founding.

The permanent collection was assembled primarily through donations from Matisse himself, who lived and worked in Nice from 1917 until his death in 1954, as well as from his heirs and deposits from the French state. It encompasses 68 paintings and gouaches, 236 drawings, 218 prints, 57 sculptures, and 14 books illustrated by the artist, including Jazz. Additionally, the museum holds 95 photographs, 187 personal objects that belonged to the painter, along with serigraphs, tapestries, ceramics, stained glass, and various documents.

Signature works in the collection span the artist's career. Paintings range from the 1905 Figure à l'ombrelle and the 1907 to 1912 Nature morte à la statuette africaine, to later works such as Tempête à Nice (1919 to 1920), Petite Pianiste, robe bleu, fond rouge (1927), and Odalisque au coffret rouge (1927). Later holdings include Papeete-Tahiti (1935), Nu dans un fauteuil, plante verte (1936), Nymphe dans la forêt (1936 to 1938), Lectrice à la table jaune (1944), Nu renversé, étendu sur le dos (circa 1946), and Nature morte aux grenades (1947). The collection also features Danseuse créole (1950), a stained glass study for L'Arbre de vie (1950), Nu bleu IV (1952), La Vague (1952), and Fleurs et Fruits (1952 to 1953).

The museum is housed in the Villa des Arènes, a Genoese villa constructed between 1670 and 1685. Originally named the Palais Gubernatis after its owner and commissioner, Jean-Baptiste Gubernatis, who was then consul of Nice, the structure was sold in 1823 to Raymond Garin de Cocconato, who converted it into a bourgeois residence. A century later, in 1923, the villa was sold to a private real estate company. The City of Nice, anxious to preserve the historic property, purchased it in 1950 and renamed it the Villa des Arènes. Following the 1993 expansion, the museum complex integrates the historic seventeenth-century architecture with a modern wing.

The Musée Matisse is located at 164 Avenue des Arènes de Cimiez in Nice, France. As a municipal museum, it is owned and operated by the City of Nice. In addition to its permanent collection, the institution hosts temporary exhibitions. Its official website is http://www.musee-matisse-nice.org.