 | This article includes alist of references,related reading, orexternal links,but its sources remain unclear because it lacksinline citations. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(January 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Villa La Californie | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Location within Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | |
| Former names | Villa Fénelon |
| Alternative names | Pavillon de Flore |
| General information | |
| Type | Privatevilla |
| Architectural style | Beaux-Arts |
| Location | 22 Coste Belle Avenue Cannes, France |
| Coordinates | 43°33′2.79″N7°2′31.57″E / 43.5507750°N 7.0421028°E /43.5507750; 7.0421028 |
| Completed | 1920 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Henri Picquart |
Villa La Californie, originallyVilla Fénelon and now calledPavillon de Flore, is avilla at 22 Coste Belle Avenue inCannes, France. It is located in thequarter of La Californie, from which the villa took its name. The villa was built in 1920 and served as the residence of artistPablo Picasso from 1955 to 1961.
Eugène Tripet (1816–1896), consul of France inMoscow, moved to Cannes in 1848 with his wife Alexandra Feodorovna Skrypitzine (1818–1895), a wealthy Russian heiress and friend ofProsper Mérimée. He built the "Villa Alexandra" on the heights of the city, overlooking the Cape of theCroisette facing theLérins Islands. That home was quickly surrounded by the residences of many members of the Russian aristocracy who vacationed in Cannes, and the area came to be nicknamed "Little Russia".[citation needed]
In 1903, Tripet's son-in-law, General vicomte Alphonse de Salignac-Fénelon, acquired the northern part of the garden of Tripet's property and commissioned a winter residence project from architectHenri Picquart. In 1920, the project was completed and the house was named "Villa Fénelon".
Pablo Picasso, who had been living in the quarter of La Californie since the 1940s, bought the villa in 1955 and moved there withJacqueline Roque. It is from this workshop that he painted the Bay of Cannes in 1958, where he represents the seascape strangled by the urban environment.[citation needed] In 1961, with the construction of a new building obstructing the sea view, Picasso decided to look for another home. He left the villa in Cannes and moved toMougins, where he spent his last years.
During the inventory of Picasso's estate, many previously unknown works were found in the villa and formed part of the original collection of the national museum which bears his name. His granddaughter,Marina Picasso, inherited the villa and finished restoration work in 1987.[1] She renamed the villa "Pavillon de Flore". In 2015, she put the villa up for sale[needs update].[2]
The house is a private property, registered in 2001 in theInventaire général du patrimoine culturel [fr] in the regionProvence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur as part of the seaside resort of Cannes (Patrimoine balnéaire de Cannes [fr]).
On August 11, 2020, Marina Picasso's sonFlorian performed a music and light show on the property. Over 25 people worked for four months on the presentation. Florian said of the performance, "Turning the entire house into a moving piece of art felt like the right way to pay tribute to what this place represents and the history it has."[3][4][5]