Château de Mouans-Sartoux
A triangular castle that houses a collection of abstract art
The story
Before you is the Château de Mouans-Sartoux. Jean de Grasse built it in 1504–1510. Its plan is a triangle, which is very rare in France. During the Wars of Religion the local lord, Pompée de Grasse, was a Protestant, and the castle became a Protestant stronghold. In the Revolution it was badly damaged. Two wings were rebuilt around 1820, and two towers at the end of the nineteenth century. In 1988 the town bought the castle. In 1990 the Espace de l’Art Concret opened here, the “Space of Concrete Art.” That is the name for art made of pure shapes and color, without depicting objects. It was founded by two Swiss collectors, Gottfried Honegger and Sybil Albers, together with the mayor. In the early 2000s they gave nearly nine hundred works to the French state, and the collection was declared a national treasure. A separate building was made for it, bright yellow-green, designed by the Zurich architects Annette Gigon and Mike Guyer. Its square plan “answers” the castle’s triangle. In 2004 the gardener Gilles Clément redesigned the park around it.
Visiting
September to June, Wednesday to Sunday, 13:00–18:00; July and August, every day, 11:00–19:00. There is an entrance fee. The train station and a bus stop are within five hundred meters. The castle is not wheelchair accessible; the new building has a lift. Hours and prices are best checked on espacedelartconcret.fr. About a kilometer away are the gardens of the International Perfume Museum.
On the way
Photos
Sources
- Espace de l’Art Concret — Le lieu
- Espace de l’Art Concret — Histoire et missions
- Côte d’Azur France — Espace de l’Art Concret
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