2 museums and a pottery

Yesterday I had to take time off the main group to see the Leger museum, Modoura pottery and Bonnard museum as preparation for a curative tour for travel agents Andrew Fyne later in the year. There were a number of logistical considerations, a private tour out of hours, a local guide, restaurants etc all of which needed my attention. I also had to evaluate how much time each museum required.

I started at the Fernand Leger museum in Biot. This was the brainchild of arts Minster Andre Malraux, Leger’s divorced wife Nadia and architect Andrei Svichine. It had a number of attractions outside a wonderful collection of his paintings. Firstly the building is beautiful and outside some murals and sculpture of Leger. The building’s natural light enhanced the bold blocks of colour that characterise Leger’s paintings. Like Picasso, Chagall and Miro, Leger was versatile in the mediums he employed: there are sculptures, stained glass, ceramics and murals. Well worth a visit.

It’s only a short trip to the Modoura pottery in Vallauris.It gives its name to Maison, Dourly and Ramie, the last names being that of Suzanne and Georges who founded the pottery.

They both worked with Picasso who produced 3,600 works with them and a few of the ceramics are still on view.

This is the problem, namely there was another exhibition of lesser quality. My conclusion was we could have lunch in Vallauris, as Picasso often did as he had a home there, and then spend 20 minutes or so here.

Finally I went to the Pierre Bonnard museum in Le Cannet.

This was inferior to the Leger in content and viewing. It was built in the front of his house, Le Bosquet, where Bonnard lived and had his pictures only on the 3rd, 4th and 5th floor.

Bonnard was for while my favourite painter but I found his obsession with his muse Marthe doing her toilette a tad creepy. If they were photographs they would be pornographic. I preferred his landscapes of the region and Normandy and Nabis output but there were not enough of them. The museum also lacked natural light.