Itinerary In the footsteps of Marc Chagall

« I thank destiny for leading me to the shores of the Mediterranean.», Marc Chagall.

In 1966, Marc and Vava Chagall left Vence to settle in Saint-Paul. They had a big house built on the edge of the village, called La Colline, where Chagall could work - for although the artist was almost 80 his work was very much in demand! Many of the pictures he painted in Saint-Paul are vibrant odes to love: loving couples entwined against calm blue skies, surrounded by birds and bunches of flowers, floating over the village and its ramparts.

Marc Chagall was often to be seen with friends at the Colombe d'Or or the Café de la Place. They included André Verdet and Aimé and Marguerite Maeght, whose house, Le Mas Bernard, was next to the artist's. Several of Marc Chagall's works feature in the Fondation Maeght's permanent collection including Les Amoureux, a big mosaic that welcomes visitors at the entrance to the Foundation, and La Vie, an immense painting whose colours explode on the canvas.

As part of the artist’s route « Live the French Riviera as a work of art », three reproductions of paintings by Chagall are dotted along chemin Sainte-Claire and the roundabout des Trious where the artist used to like to stroll.

You can also have a look at the mosaic “Le fleuve vert” (“The green river”) which stands on the wall of the nursery school. It was made in 1986, a few months after Marc Chagall’s death, from an original lithograph of the artist. Chagall, who loved children, featured the smiling face of a child, symbol of joyfulness.

March Chagall passed away in March, 28th, 1985. He rests in the cemetery of Saint-Paul de Vence, overlooking the Mediterranean sea.