Chapelle du Rosaire - Vence, France - 1000 Places to See Before You Die on Waymarking.com

[FR] Elle a été consacrée le 25 juin 1951. Henri Matisse la considérait comme le « chef-d'œuvre de son existence », le « résumé de toute sa vie active ».

Il consacra quatre années de travail exclusif et assidu à la réalisation de ce projet qu'il a voulu avec son ancienne infirmière et modèle Monique Bourgeois.

La relation amicale et relativement peu connue entre Matisse et cette jeune femme fut à l'origine de la décoration de la chapelle du Rosaire par le peintre. Matisse, qui était venu dans la région de Vence pour se soigner, avait passé une annonce pour rechercher une « jeune et jolie infirmière » pour l'aider à se soigner. Monique Bourgeois, jeune infirmière de 21 ans, amatrice d'art, y répondit. Une relation forte se noua entre le peintre et son infirmière, qui lui servit de modèle. La guerre les sépara. Lorsqu'ils renouèrent leur relation, la jeune infirmière était devenue sœur Jacques-Marie, depuis qu'elle avait rejoint l’ordre dominicain en 1946. Ensemble, ils formèrent le projet de construire une chapelle pour le couvent des Dominicains.

Très malade, l'artiste n'a pu assister à l'inauguration de son œuvre, en 1951.

Extérieurement, l'architecture est très dépouillée, rien ne semble indiquer qu'il s'agit d'une chapelle si ce n'est une immense croix de fer forgé aux « appogiatures » dorées à la feuille par le doreur Atilius Arrighi.

À l'intérieur, sous les vitraux aux motifs de teintes vertes, jaunes et bleues, les dessins de Matisse se découpent sur un fond de céramique blanche. Le vert, le jaune et le bleu, couleurs dominantes, s’inspirent de motifs végétaux.

[EN] It houses a number of Matisse originals and was regarded by Matisse himself as his "masterpiece". While the simple white exterior has drawn mixed reviews from casual observers, many regard it as one of the great religious structures of the 20th century.

In 1941, Matisse, who lived most of the year in Nice in the south of France, developed cancer and underwent surgery. During the long recovery he was particularly helped by a young part-time nurse, Monique Bourgeois, who had answered his advertisement seeking "a young and pretty nurse" and who took care of Matisse with great tenderness. Matisse asked her to pose for him, which she did, and several drawings and paintings exist. In 1943 Bourgeois decided to enter the Dominican convent in Vence, a nearby hill town to Nice, and she became Sister Jacques-Marie. Matisse eventually bought a home at Vence, not far from the convent where the young nun was stationed. She visited him and told him of the plans the Dominicans had to build a chapel beside the girls' high school which they operated in Vence. She asked Matisse if he would help with the design of the chapel. He had never done anything like it, but Matisse agreed to help, beginning in 1947.

At the age of 77, Matisse began the greatest project of his life and spent more than four years working on the chapel, its architecture, stained glass windows, interior furnishings, murals, and the vestments of the priests.

The chapel is built on a hillside and one enters by descending a flight of stairs, and then turning to the right. The chapel is in an L shape, with the longer portion directly inside the door. The longer/larger segment is for the students or townspeople; the shorter section was for the nuns who lived and taught at the school. Both sides face the altar.

There are three sets of stained glass windows, upon which Matisse spent a great deal of time. All three sets make use of just three colors: an intense yellow for the sun, an intense green for vegetation and cactus forms, and a vivid blue for the Mediterranean Sea, the Riviera sky and the Madonna. The two windows beside the altar are named the "Tree of Life," but the forms are abstract.

Name of Source Book: 1,000 Places to See Before you Die, 2010 paperback edition. Page Location in Source Book: 138 Type of Waymark: site Location of Coordinates: Entrance Cost of Admission (Parks, Museums, etc.): 6.00 (listed in local currency) List Available Hours, Dates, Season: Lundi-mercredi-samedi : 14h à 17h30 Mardi et jeudi : 10h à 11h30 et 14h à 17h30- messe le dimanche à 10h Fermeture annuelle : de mi -novembre à mi-décembre et les jours fériés Official Tourism Website: [Web Link]

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