Press - The Maeght Saga

Masterpiece. On July 28, 1964, their foundation opened its doors in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. The artists had found their home.

BY LAURENCE GUIDICELLI

“A wonderful adventure.” This is how Aimé Maeght (1906-1998), a war orphan who became one of the greatest art dealers of the 20th century, described his life. Originally from Hazebrouck, in the North, this visionary genius was 20 years old when, with a designer-lithographer diploma in hand, he moved to Cannes to work in a printing house. There he met the love of his life: Marguerite Devaye (1909-1977), daughter of rich merchants, a spicy brunette with large, soft eyes and outspokenness. And what a meeting!

“One evening ,” says their son Adrien Maeght, “they both went to the same choir. The young girl - Marguerite was 17 - believes that Aimé is following her. She turns around and slaps him a couple of times. » Less than a year later, in 1928, the couple married and Adrien was born in 1930.

The couple opened a workshop-boutique, both a printing shop and a radio store. It was there, in 1936, that Aimé met Pierre Bonnard. Marguerite suggested that he display his paintings in the window, to decorate the store, ignoring his already high rating. The painter accepts, amused, and quickly learns to be part of the family. He gets his ideas for paintings during their picnics at the beach: “I prepared soups,” said Marguerite, “at least I was sure that he was eating.” Between the 69-year-old painter and the brilliant lithographer, a deep friendship develops. Bonnard became his mentor: “If I had had to have a son, he would have been the one I would have wanted. »

Bonnard introduced the Maeghts to Henri Matisse - Marguerite posed for him - who was their neighbor in 1943, when, participating in the Resistance, they took refuge in the hills of Vence. The couple, now art dealers, attracted artists and intellectuals around them: Picasso, Tristan Bernard, the poet Pierre Reverdy. Everyone appreciates the hospitality and joie de vivre of Aimé and Guiguite, which are so complementary. He is a go-getter, a man with a thousand ideas that his wife channels. “It is to impress him that Grandpa will embark on ambitious projects all his life,” assures Françoise, their third granddaughter, nicknamed Yoyo by Prévert.

When the war was over, Aimé, trained by Bonnard and Matisse, opened a gallery in Paris, rue de Téhéran. In 1947, he hosted an exhibition on surrealism there, orchestrated by Marcel Duchamp and André Breton, disruptors in chief with their strokes of genius: fake breasts, rain curtains... “In one fell swoop, the cultural and artistic worlds , who had lost their bearings, found a rallying point in my grandparents,” explains Yoyo, citing Braque, Miro, Giacometti, Léger, Calder, Derain, Kandinsky, Picabia, Chagall... The ambitious gallery owner loves risk: from Giacometti, then unknown, he had all the casts made in bronze. A fortune at the time. “I met a madman,” said the sculptor , “he wants to melt all the copies right away!” At the same time, Aimé develops a publishing activity, which Adrien monitors.

In 1953, tragedy. Bernard, their 11-year-old son, dies of leukemia. The Maeghts lock themselves in their house in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Aimé wants to stop everything. They are going to travel. Six months in the United States, where they discovered the foundations of art.

Braque, Aimé’s new mentor since Bonnard’s death, tells them: “Go for it! Do something that forces you to move beyond your pain. » “Georges Braque and Fernand Léger will really push my parents to build the ideal house for artists,” reveals Adrien Maeght. Thus was born the idea, unique in France at the time, of creating a private foundation for modern and contemporary art on the Gardettes hill, in Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

Labyrinth and mosaic. The Spanish architect Josep Huis Sert, presented to the Maeght by Miro, imagines an astonishing building - raw concrete and pink bricks - integrated into the pine forest. Each artist mobilizes for this “house” that he considers his own: Miro dreamed of a labyrinth, he built it. Giacometti chooses a courtyard and decorates it with his sculptures, Chagall and Tal Coat each create a mosaic, Calder a stabile, Braque and Ubac stained glass windows...A garden, as Trenet would say, extraordinary. To monitor the construction site, Adrien Maeght lives on site with his wife, Paulette, and their three daughters, born between 1955 and 1959: Isabelle, Florence and Yoyo. Since the death of his brother, Adrien has given up his dream of making a career in the United States. His “only regret”, admits this car enthusiast. Often in conflict with his father, "question of generation", he distanced himself and opened, in 1956, his own gallery, rue du Bac in Paris, then a printing house which hired up to 100 employees.

After four years of work, the Marguerite-et-Aimé-Maeght Foundation was inaugurated on July 28, 1964 in front of 3,000 guests. André Malraux, then Minister of Cultural Affairs, leans over each work, sucks his glasses arms and declares, inimitable: “Please know that this is not a palace, nor a place of decoration, in no way a museum. Here is created the universe where modern art could find its place. » The foundation was not to be open to the public, intended to house only the Maeght collection, “but, the day after the inauguration, there was a 100 meter queue. We charged 1 franc for entry and we never closed,” explains Adrien.

The Maeght empire expands with the opening of galleries in Zurich, Barcelona and New York. Isabelle, Florence and Yoyo grew up in complete freedom, having fun with the artists and their works, playing with their children at Mas Bernard or at the La Colombe d'Or hotel. A dream childhood: “It was more important in the eyes of our parents that we attend the openings than being on time for school the next morning,” remembers Isabelle. Aimé and Marguerite adore their granddaughters. In 1968 Julien, known as Jules, was born. “The youngest, obviously, is always the favorite. And then it’s the boy,” admits Adrien. All the grandchildren, with the exception of Florence, will join the family business, at the gallery, the editions, the printing house or the foundation. In 1977, Marguerite died suddenly. She is 67 years old. Everything changes. Aimé loses his enthusiasm, becomes less enthusiastic than before. Four years after Marguerite, he died of cancer.

Thirty years after the death of the patriarch, the Maeght name remains an absolute reference in the world of art. But the grandchildren are at war. Sibling rivalries, unresolved inheritance or gift-sharing conflicts, incomprehension on both sides... the list is long. Yoyo has just published “La saga Maeght” (Robert Laffont): she speaks her truth with a tone that should further fan the embers of the home. Of the nine great-grandchildren of Aimé and Marguerite, none is preparing to take over. As for the foundation, whose fund amounts to 12,000 works, Adrien, president of the board of directors. is convinced of its sustainability: “With or without Maeght.” This summer it will welcome its ten millionth visitor.

Pictures

“Guiguite”

“My grandmother ordered three portraits from Giacometti in 1961, one for each of her granddaughters. She wanted us to keep this wonderful expression from her,” says Florence.

Protective

Aimé Maeght (here, in front of the foundation) was a friend of the artists. During the war he helped many of them cross the demarcation line.

Under the tender gaze of their grandparents, Isabelle, Florence and Yoyo handed over the keys to the foundation to the Minister of Cultural Affairs, André Malraux, on July 28, 1964.

Mischievous

“Calder (left) loved to play jokes on Miró. Which worked every time!” remembers Adrien Maeght, the son of Aimé and Marguerite.

Ripples

Located on the heights of Saint Paul de Vence, the Maeght foundation was designed by Josep Luis Sert. The Spanish architect invented these curved shapes so that the light never falls directly on the works.

Like a fish in water

During the construction of the foundation, each artist assigned himself a task. Braque decided to create a pond in the patio, for which he designed this fish motif.

Magnetism

Aimé and Marguerite Maeght, even before the construction of the foundation, had managed to make Saint-Paul-de-Vence a rallying place for artists of the time. Here, Aimé Maeght with Louis Aragon (left) and Marc Chagall.

“Facing the work”, the exhibition

To celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, the Maeght Foundation has chosen to highlight the importance of the “Facing the work” view. This atypical exhibition puts into perspective the way in which Aimé and Marguerite Maeght, as well as their descendants, guided by their convictions, have always selected works: for their presence and their power of emotion, without prejudice or notion of “school” . Between paintings, drawings and sculptures, the event brings together around fifty artists who have marked the history of the place. Alongside famous masterpieces - Braque's "Black Birds", Bonnard's "Summer" or Kandinsky's "Red Knots" - those of François Fiedler, Gasiorowski, Yan Pei Ming, Calzolari and Djamel are also revealed Tatah. A tribute to the spirit of discovery of the founders.

blpre blfon