In the winter of 1917 Henri Matisse came to Nice from Paris to recover from bronchitis. He recovered and swiftly found that the brilliant light and the sea captivated him, writing to his wife “sea and sky blue - blue - blue.” From this magical light and color began a love affair with Nice and Vence for the rest of his life.
A fascinating little know back story leads to what Matisse calls his finest work of art. In 1942 when he was recovering from intestinal cancer in Nice. Weakened by his hospitalization, he was searching for an agreeable student nurse to tend to him and keep him company, he hired Monique Bourgeois and they become lifelong close friends. Even as Monique takes her vows to become a Dominican nun their friendship continued.
Matisse moves to the town of Vence in the Alpine foothills just above Nice, which still provided incredible views to the glistening blue expanse of the Mediterranean Sea. His friend, now Sister Jacques-Marie, was also here in Vence at the convent Foyer Lacordaire. As there was no chapel at convent, the nuns were praying in a small former garage building, as this was right after the war. In order to thank her for her devoted care and friendship, he decided to build her and her convent a small chapel. And thus he set about at the age of 77 creating a tranquil space that would become the masterpiece of his artistic endeavor.
Matisse who had been baptized Catholic, but no longer practiced the Faith; he, like Picasso claimed to be an atheists. But something drove him to create a space so serene and so cohesive from the stained glass windows, candlesticks, alter cloths, to the blue tiled roof. From 1947 to 1951 the chapel took shape. The small building, very simple in appearance, arouses your curiosity with its colored windows. The first time I visited, I drove by it twice as it is that unassuming. Only when you are inside, does the chapel reveal its full splendor thanks to the reflections of the windows on the marble floor and the three wall paintings representing the Way of the Cross, the Virgin and Child, and Saint Dominic. For the stained glass, Matisse limited his palette to three colors which creates a calm yet vibrant intensity as light beams through. The Chapelle du Rosaire is timeless and just as intense in its simplicity, as any grand cathedral.
“Most painters … look for an external light to see clearly into their own nature. Whereas the artist or the poet possesses an inner light that transforms objects, creating a new world within them, a sentient, organized and living world, a sure sign of divinity in itself, the reflection of divinity.” —Henri Matisse
Being so close I must recommend staying at the elegant and romantic Chateau St Martin & Spa…it is a cathedral to hospitality, set amid the Col de Vence Mountain and the Riviera’s blue horizon. Dating back 900 years to Roman times it is living history, in the 12th century when the Château was a Knights Templar stronghold to becoming a family home to now a luxury Oetker Collection property.
Don’t miss the exceptional cuisine, gardens, spa, wine cellar and their own chapel that exhibits a contemporary mural “Tree of Life" by artist Erick Ifergan. This non-consecrated space has a rare spiritual atmosphere for vows and ceremonies. Rivers of roses breathe enchantment over the gardens along with a multitude of olive trees. Sunset on the terrace is so magical you may actually feel you are conjuring Henri Matisse’s blues and golden yellows as he saw them.
https://www.oetkercollection.com/hotels/chateau-saint-martin/vence-french-riviera/
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