MAGNELLI MUSEUM CERAMIC MUSEUM

Vallauris Golfe-Juan

Discover the collections of the Florentine painter Alberto Magnelli, Picasso... The museum hosts various aspects of Vallaurian ceramics of yesterday and today.

The Magnelli Museum, Museum of Ceramics

Vallauris

The Château de Vallauris, a former priory of the Lérins Abbey, rebuilt in the 16th century, is one of the rare Renaissance buildings in the region.
It houses the Picasso National Museum "War and Peace" in the Romanesque chapel, the Magnelli Museum and the Ceramics Museum.
The collections are based on the works of two emblematic figures of 20th century modernity: Pablo Picasso and Alberto Magnelli.

The presentation of ceramic works testifies to the rich history of this medium in Vallauris: from traditional culinary production to technical and aesthetic innovations in artistic ceramics.

Who is Alberto Magnelli?

Alberto Magnelli, contemporary of Picasso

Alberto Magnelli (1888-1971), a Florentine painter, was a pioneer of abstract art.
The Magnelli Museum traces the various phases of his development in a chronological tour.
His works, including paintings, collages and engravings, can be seen here. The museum has a rich collection of the artist's work, gathered during his lifetime.

Indeed, he wanted his personal collection to be exhibited in a museum near Grasse, where he lived for 30 years.
At his death, his widow, Susi Magnelli, donated the collection to the Vallauris Museum.

Subsequently, several other donations were made to the museum.

See the Ceramic collections

The museum houses various aspects of Vallaurian ceramics from the past and the present.
Works that have won awards at ceramic biennials since 1968:

- objects from the culinary ceramic tradition
- pieces with specific decoration such as green enamels from Foucard-Jourdan, Jasper decorations...
- artistic ceramics from the Massier family.

You will find all styles of ceramic objects:

- art nouveau style objects
- eclectic decorations ceramics with a naturalist tendency
- creations from the fifties works by Jean Derval, Roger Capron, Robert Picault...
- ceramics from the "Golden Age" of Vallauris: works by Pablo Picasso - photographs by André Villers.
- contemporary creations by designers

Exhibition Vallauris La Ville Atelier 1938-1962

Temporary exhibition / 3 July - 31 October 2021

@Deleu Magnelli Museum

The exhibition highlights the production of ceramic works in the 1950s in Vallauris and its know-how in ceramic creation.

In 1955, Pablo Picasso settled in Vallauris and attracted a new generation of artists, painters and sculptors.
These artists came to Vallauris to learn the art of fire and the mastery of clay, while also learning from the technicians of the Vallauris workshops, including the famous MADOURA workshop.

Chagall, Cocteau, Brauner ... were part of this new generation that arrived in the 1950s, but also their friends, such as Éluard, Prévert, ... and many others.

For 10 years, Vallauris was transformed into a real workshop town that bubbled with meetings, new ideas and experiments, initiatives, ... and parties.

The exhibition Vallauris, la ville atelier is divided into four main parts:

1/ "The emergence of a new generation (1938-1946)",
2/ "The artistic abundance" of the 1950s - creations of a young generation of artists and designers
3/ "Vallauris, a land of choice for artists" discover the work of several renowned painters and sculptors at the time
4/ "The rebirth of a pottery town" tribute to the dynamism of the Vallauris factory-workshops.

Opening hours Magnelli Museum

Museum closed on Tuesdays
From the beginning of July to mid-September:
from 10am to 12.30pm
from 2pm to 6pm

From 16 September 2021
from 10:00 to 12:15
from 14:00 to 17:00

Exhibition fees

Full price: 6 €
Reduced price: 3 € (seniors, students, groups of 10 or more)
Free: Children up to and including 18 years old, residents of Vallauris Golfe-Juan, 1st Sunday of the month