On the occasion of the centenary of the construction of the Saint Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, an exhibition dedicated to the Russian presence in Nice and on the French Riviera is organized at the Masséna Museum to celebrate and testify to the strong historical and sentimental ties between Nice and Russia.
The inauguration of this exhibition will take place this Saturday, December 15, 2012, at 4 p.m., in the presence of Christian Estrosi and Vladimir Pozdnyakov, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Marseille.
The Russian presence on the Riviera will be addressed in the five rooms of the temporary exhibition space on the second floor of the Masséna Villa.
Each room covers a theme:
- An imperial family on the Riviera,
- The Valrose Castle, a Russian site in the heart of Nice,
- The Russian cultural and scientific contribution of Marie Bashkirtseff, Ivan Aivazovsky, Anton Chekhov, Alexis Korotneff, and Léopold Bernstamm,
- The Russian cathedral,
- The Russian Ballets.
The exhibition features numerous paintings, sculptures, watercolors, photographs, art objects, stage costumes, decor models … from the collections of the municipal institutions of the City of Nice: Museum of Fine Arts of Nice/Jules Chéret, Masséna Museum and Cessole Library, but also from the Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Nice, the Musée du Vieux-Toulon, the Palais Carnolès in Menton, the Jean Cocteau Museum – Séverin Wunderman collection in Menton, the New National Museum of Monaco, the Société des Bains de Mer, the Ferrero Gallery, the University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, the Oceanographic Observatory of Villefranche-sur-Mer, and many private collectors.
The exhibition “Russian Presence. Nice and the French Riviera. 1860-1914” is on display until March 18, 2013.
