In echo of the national theme “1913-2013: A Century of Protection,” the guided tour “100 Years of Protection and Promotion of Heritage in Saint-Paul de Vence” will celebrate the centenary of the founding law for the protection of Historical Monuments.
It will invite visitors to (re)discover the remarkable monuments and objects of Saint-Paul classified as Historical Monuments and raise awareness of the actions undertaken by the municipality to protect and enhance its heritage.
Particular focus will be given to recent restoration campaigns for the ramparts and the collegiate church, as well as to the enhancement of two chapels through the work of artists. Painter Paul Conte will be present to discuss the mural paintings he is executing in the Saint-Charles-Saint-Claude chapel.
Another tour entitled “Marc Chagall, Crossing the 20th Century from Vitebsk to Saint-Paul de Vence” will take visitors on the trails of Marc Chagall in Saint-Paul de Vence. Born in Russia, exiled in Europe and the United States, Marc Chagall settled on the Côte d’Azur after the war, first in Vence, then in Saint-Paul de Vence between 1966 and 1985. For almost 20 years, he painted views of Saint-Paul de Vence, three of which have been reproduced on lecterns.
This visit will lead visitors from lectern to lectern up to the school’s mosaic and the Saint-Paul Museum where photographic portraits of Marc Chagall are exhibited. They will discover the connections that united the artist to the village as well as the journeys and exiles that marked his life.
The year 2013 also marks the centenary of the birth of André Verdet, a Saint-Paul artist who passed away in 2004. Both a poet, painter, and sculptor, André Verdet was the living link between his artist friends — Picasso, Prévert, Chagall — and his village.
His house “l’Obiou” will be open to the public on Saturday, September 14. The interior of the house will be rearranged as a visitor might have discovered it during the artist’s lifetime. On this occasion, about twenty works by André Verdet, paintings and ceramics, will be repositioned in their original places within the house.
