Musée national Fernand Léger
The national museum of Fernand Léger, with a giant mosaic on its façade
The story
Before you is the Musée national Fernand Léger, devoted to one of the great French painters of the twentieth century. A few months before his death in 1955, Léger bought the Mas Saint-André here, at the foot of Biot. After he died, his widow Nadia Léger and his close collaborator Georges Bauquier built a museum on this land. The building was designed by the architect André Svetchine, and the park by Henri Fisch. The museum opened on the evening of May 13, 1960, with more than five thousand guests. Its great ornament is the huge mosaic on the façade. Léger designed it for a stadium in Hanover, but it was never made there. In 1969 the founders gave the state the building, the land and more than three hundred works, and the museum became national. The culture minister André Malraux accepted the gift. In 1987 the museum got a new wing, also with mosaics after Léger’s designs. Since October 2024 the big mosaic has been under restoration, so there may be scaffolding on the façade.
Visiting
May to October, 10:00–18:00; November to April, 10:00–17:00; closed for lunch 12:00–13:30. Closed on Tuesdays, and on January 1, May 1 and December 25. There is an entrance fee; free on the first Sunday of the month. Free parking; Envibus lines 10 and 21. Address: 255 Chemin du Val de Pôme. Hours and prices are best checked on musees-nationaux-alpesmaritimes.fr.
On the way
Photos
Sources
- Musées nationaux du XXe siècle des Alpes-Maritimes — Histoire du musée national Fernand Léger
- Musées nationaux du XXe siècle des Alpes-Maritimes — Informations pratiques (Fernand Léger)
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