Musée Matisse

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Lonely Planet review

The Musée Matisse, 2km north of the centre, houses a splendid assortment of works by Henri Matisse. Its permanent collection is displayed in a red-ochre 17th-century Genoese villa overlooking the olive-tree-studded Parc des Arènes. Temporary exhibitions are hosted in the futuristic basement building.

The reception hall of the museum is dominated by a colourful, 4.1m by 8.7m paper cutout frieze entitled Flowers and Fruits , designed by Matisse for the inner courtyard of a Californian villa in 1953. Attracted by the weather, scenery and proximity of his friends (Picasso, Renoir and Bonnard lived in neighbouring towns), Henri Matisse wintered in Nice until his death in Cimiez in 1954. Well known pieces in the permanent collection include his paper cut-outs of Blue Nude IV and Woman with Amphora .