Cagnes-sur-Mer (, literally ''Cagnes on Sea''; oc, Canha de Mar) is a

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

town in the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, it ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in southeastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Geography

Cagnes-sur-Mer is a town in south-eastern France located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, between Saint-Laurent-du-Var and Villeneuve-Loubet. It stretches along a cove offering nearly four kilometers (2 miles) of beach and is surrounded by hills, including that of the castle which rises to 300 feet (90 meters) above sea level.

History

It was the retreat and final address of the painter

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

, who moved there in 1907 in an attempt to improve his arthritis, and remained until his death in 1919. In the late 1920s, Cagnes-sur-Mer became a residence for many

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

renowned literary and art figures, such as

Kay Boyle Kay Boyle (February 19, 1902 – December 27, 1992) was an American novelist, short story writer, educator, and political activist. She was a Guggenheim Fellow and O. Henry Award winner. Early years The granddaughter of a publisher, Boyle was ...

George Antheil George Johann Carl Antheil (; July 8, 1900 – February 12, 1959) was an American avant-garde composer, pianist, author, and inventor whose modernist musical compositions explored the modern sounds – musical, industrial, and mechanical – of t ...

and

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

and

Caresse Crosby Caresse Crosby (born Mary Phelps Jacob; April 20, 1892 – January 24, 1970) was the first recipient of a patent for the modern bra, an American patron of the arts, publisher, and the "literary godmother to the Lost Generation of expatriate writ ...

. Author

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

(1903–1989), creator of the fictional detective ''Commissaire

Jules Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...

'', lived at 98, montée de la Bourgade in the 1950s with his third wife and their three children; his initial "S" may still be seen in the wrought iron on the stairs. Parisian artist, poet, and philosopher Georges Charaire had a home In Cagnes for many years. Creating his lithographs in the former studio of

Paul Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

, and also as a co-founder of the Theatre du Tertre in Montmartre, he had a great influence on French art and thought in the 20th century. He helped his friend

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

with his first plays at the Theatre du Tertre. Charaire kept his second home in Cagnes sur Mer until his death in 2001. Belarusian-French artist

Chaïm Soutine Chaïm Soutine (13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a Belarusian painter who made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living and working in Paris. Inspired by classic painting in the European tradition, exemplified by the ...

created powerful, fanciful landscapes of southern France. A friend of

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

, Soutine left colourful landscapes from Cagnes from 1924 on. Fauvist painter

Francisco Iturrino Francisco Nicolás Iturrino González (9 September 1864 – 20 June 1924) was a Spanish Post-impressionist painter of Basque ancestry. He is sometimes classified as a Fauvist. Biography Iturrino was born in Santander. In 1872, his famil ...

also resided in the town where he died. The town may have been an inspiration for Neo-impressionist

Henri-Edmond Cross Henri-Edmond Cross, born Henri-Edmond-Joseph Delacroix, (20 May 1856 – 16 May 1910) was a French painter and printmaker. He is most acclaimed as a master of Neo-Impressionism and he played an important role in shaping the second phase of t ...

(1856–1910), the artist who painted ''Cypresses at Cagnes'' (1908).

Population

Sights

Places of interest include Renoir's estate, ''Les Collettes'', surrounded by olive trees; the Medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

at ''le Haut-de-Cagnes'' and the ''Cros'' quarter, founded by Italian fishermen in the nineteenth century. It is also known for its horse racing venue, the

Hippodrome de la Côte d'Azur The Hippodrome de la Côte d'Azur is a racecourse which is located in the town of Cagnes-sur-Mer. It opened with temporary facilities in 1952, and was officially opened in December 1960. The most prestigious trotting race is the Grand Criterium ...

, and a four-kilometre (2 mile) beach.

Transport

The

Gare de Cagnes-sur-Mer Gare de Cagnes-sur-Mer is a railway station serving Cagnes-sur-Mer, Alpes-Maritimes department, southeastern France. It is located on the Marseille–Ventimiglia railway, between Cannes and Nice. The station is served by regional trains (TER Pro ...

railway station offers local services in the directions of Nice and Cannes.

International relations

The commune is twinned with: *

Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...

(

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, 1973)

Photo gallery

File:Cros-de-Cagnes.jpg, Cros-de-Cagnes File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir 062.jpg, ''Landscape near Cagnes'', by

File:The Vineyards at Cagnes Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1908.jpg, ''The Vineyards at Cagnes'' by

, 1908.

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

File:The Castle in Haut-de-Cagnes.jpg, The Grimaldi castle museum in Haut-de-Cagnes