The Musée Cantini is a museum in
Marseilles that has been open to the public since 1936. The museum specializes in modern art, especially paintings from the first half of the twentieth century.
The building
The musée Cantini building was built in 1694 for the Compagnie du Cap Nègre. The company ran into financial difficulties and the building was sold in 1709 to Dominique de Montgrand great-grandfather of Jean-Baptiste-Jacques-Guy-Thérèse de Montgrand, future Mayor of Marseille.
The building was then sold to Louis Joseph Chaudoin in 1801 and to Dieudonné Bernadac in 1816. In 1888, it was acquired by
Jules Cantini who bequeathed it to the City of
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
in 1916, with the stipulation that it was to become a museum of decorative arts. The museum was opened in 1936.
The Collection
The Musée Cantini has one of the largest public collections in France of the 1900-1960 period. A wide variety of artists is represented, including
Charles Camoin,
Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textile as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted ...
,
Albert Gleizes
Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...
,
Henri Laurens
Henri Laurens (February 18, 1885 – May 5, 1954) was a French sculptor and illustrator.
Early life and education
Born in Paris, Henri Laurens worked as a stonemason before he became a sculptor. From 1899 to 1902, he attended drawing class ...
,
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
,
František Kupka
František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech Republic, Czech Painting, painter and graphic artist. He was a pioneer and co-founder of the early phases of the Abstract ...
,
Jean Hélion
Jean Hélion (April 21, 1904October 27, 1987) was a French painter whose abstract work of the 1930s established him as a leading modernist. His midcareer rejection of abstraction was followed by nearly five decades as a figurative painter. He w ...
,
Alberto Magnelli
Alberto Magnelli (1 July 1888 – 20 April 1971) was an Italian modern painter who was a significant figure in the post war Concrete art movement.
Biography
Magnelli was born in Florence on July 1, 1888. In 1907 he started painting and, d ...
,
Amédée Ozenfant
Amédée Ozenfant (15 April 1886 – 4 May 1966) was a French cubist Painting, painter and writer. Together with Charles-Edouard Jeanneret (later known as Le Corbusier) he founded the Purism (arts), Purist movement.
Education
Ozenfant wa ...
,
Max Ernst
Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...
,
André Masson
André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist.
Biography
Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brussel ...
,
Simon Simon-Auguste
Simon Joseph Simon-Auguste (20 April 1909 – May 1987) was a French artist, known for his intimate paintings, mainly portraits, nudes and still lifes. His production is characterized by a calm, intimate feel, and the effective use of glaze.
Ea ...
,
Jacques Thévenet
Jacques Thévenet (17 October 1891 – 5 April 1989) was a French painter and illustrator.
Early life and education
Jacques Thévenet was born in Montquin, Dommartin township, Nièvre department, France (17 October 1891) in the family’s ...
,
Victor Brauner
Victor Brauner (, also spelled Viktor Brauner; 15 June 1903 – 12 March 1966) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of the surrealist movement.
Early life
He was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, the son of a Jewish timber manufacturer who subsequen ...
,
Joan Miró,
Jean Arp.
Pointillisme, fauvisme et cubisme
*
Paul Signac
Paul Victor Jules Signac ( , ; 11 November 1863 – 15 August 1935) was a French Neo-Impressionist painter who, working with Georges Seurat, helped develop the Pointillist style.
Biography
Paul Signac was born in Paris on 11 November 1863. ...
, ''La Corne d'or, Matin'', 1907 et ''Entrée du Port de Marseille'', 1918
*
André Derain
André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.
Biography
Early years
Derain was born in 1880 in Chatou, Yvelines, Île-de-France (region), Île-de-Franc ...
, ''Pinède, Cassis'', 1907
*
Raoul Dufy
Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French Fauvist painter. He developed a colorful, decorative style that became fashionable for designs of ceramics and textile as well as decorative schemes for public buildings. He is noted ...
, ''Landscapes of l'Estaque'', 1908
*
Albert Gleizes
Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...
, ''L'Ecolier'' and Etude pour Femme assise, c.1920
*
Emile Othon Friesz,
Auguste Chabaud,
Charles Camoin,
Alfred Lombard
Inter-War Period
*
Oskar Kokoschka
Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expres ...
, ''Le port de Marseille'', 1925
*
Jean Hélion
Jean Hélion (April 21, 1904October 27, 1987) was a French painter whose abstract work of the 1930s established him as a leading modernist. His midcareer rejection of abstraction was followed by nearly five decades as a figurative painter. He w ...
, ''Composition verticale'', 1936
*
Alberto Magnelli
Alberto Magnelli (1 July 1888 – 20 April 1971) was an Italian modern painter who was a significant figure in the post war Concrete art movement.
Biography
Magnelli was born in Florence on July 1, 1888. In 1907 he started painting and, d ...
, ''Pierres n°2'', 1932
*
Jeanne-Laure Garcin, ''Les Hommes et la machine'', 1932
*
Julio Gonzalez, ''Danseuse à la palette'', vers 1934
*
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...
,
František Kupka
František Kupka (23 September 1871 – 24 June 1957), also known as ''Frank Kupka'' or ''François Kupka,'' was a Czech Republic, Czech Painting, painter and graphic artist. He was a pioneer and co-founder of the early phases of the Abstract ...
,
Jacques Villon
Jacques Villon (July 31, 1875 – June 9, 1963), also known as Gaston Duchamp, was a French Cubist and Abstract art, abstract painter and printmaker.
Early life
Born Émile Méry Frédéric Gaston Duchamp in Damville, Eure, Damville, Eure, ...
...
Surrealism
*
Max Ernst
Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...
, ''Monument aux oiseaux'', 1927
*
Jacques Hérold
Jacques Hérold (born Herold Blumer; 10 October 191011 January 1987) was a prominent Surrealism, surrealist painter born in Piatra Neamț, Romania.
Biography
Considered one of the most important late-period Surrealism, Surrealist painters, Hér ...
, ''Les Têtes'', 1939
*
André Masson
André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist.
Biography
Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brussel ...
, ''Antille'', 1943, ''Le Terrier'', 1946
*
Jean Arp, ''Genèse'', 1944
*
Joseph Cornell
Joseph Cornell (December 24, 1903 – December 29, 1972) was an American visual artist and film-maker, one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. Influenced by the Surrealists, he was also an avant-garde experimental filmm ...
, ''Flat sand box'', vers 1950
*
Roberto Matta
Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (; November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art.
Bio ...
, ''Contra vosotros asesinos de palomas'', 1950
*
Wifredo Lam
Wifredo Óscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla (; December 8, 1902 – September 11, 1982), better known as Wifredo Lam, was a Cuban artist who sought to portray and revive the enduring Afro-Cuban spirit and culture. Inspired by and in conta ...
,
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...
,
Victor Brauner
Victor Brauner (, also spelled Viktor Brauner; 15 June 1903 – 12 March 1966) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of the surrealist movement.
Early life
He was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, the son of a Jewish timber manufacturer who subsequen ...
...
From World War II to 1980
*
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, ''Tête de femme souriante'', 1943;
*
Fernand Léger, ''Nature morte au couteau'', 1945;
*
Nicolas de Staël
Nicolas de Staël (; January 5, 1914 – March 16, 1955) was a French painter of Russian origin known for his use of a thick impasto and his highly abstract landscape painting. He also worked with collage, illustration and textiles.
Early life
...
, ''Harmonie rouge, bleue et noire'', 1951;
*
Alberto Giacometti, ''Portrait de Diego'', 1957;
*
Roland Bierge, ''Nature morte à la Théière brune'', 1957;
*
Balthus, ''Nature morte à la lampe'', 1958, ''Le Baigneur'', 1960;
*
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a ...
, ''Vénus du trottoir'', 1946, ''Brouette en surplomb I'', 1964;
*
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
, ''Autoportrait'', 1976;
*
Antonin Artaud,
Vieira da Silva...
*
Jean-Charles Blais, ''s.t'', huile sur bois et collage, 1986;
Drawings
The museum has drawings by
André Derain
André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.
Biography
Early years
Derain was born in 1880 in Chatou, Yvelines, Île-de-France (region), Île-de-Franc ...
,
Pierre Bonnard,
André Masson
André-Aimé-René Masson (4 January 1896 – 28 October 1987) was a French artist.
Biography
Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but when he was eight his father's work took the family first briefly to Lille and then to Brussel ...
,
Francis Picabia
Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...
,
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...
,
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
,
Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching.
Hopper created subdued drama ...
,
Victor Brauner
Victor Brauner (, also spelled Viktor Brauner; 15 June 1903 – 12 March 1966) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of the surrealist movement.
Early life
He was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, the son of a Jewish timber manufacturer who subsequen ...
,
Jean Dubuffet
Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a ...
...
Degas theft
In 2009 the museum was exhibiting
Edgar Degas's pastel on monotype ''
Les Choristes
''Les Choristes'' ("The Chorus" or "The Chorus Singers") is an 1877 pastel on monotype by French artist Edgar Degas. Part of a series of similar works depicting daily public entertainment at the time, it shows a group of singers performing a sc ...
'', on loan from the
Musée d'Orsay in Paris. It was
stolen
Stolen may refer to:
* ''Stolen'' (2009 Australian film), a 2009 Australian film
* ''Stolen'' (2009 American film), a 2009 American film
* ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' (2010 film), a film based on the real life kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie ...
at the end of the year; the investigation went cold until 2018, when customs officers recovered it from the luggage compartment of a bus outside Paris.
Bibliography
* Régis Bertrand, Lucien Tirone, ''Le guide de Marseille'', édition la manufacture, Besançon, 1991,
References
External links
Musée Cantini
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantini
Art museums and galleries in France
Museums in Marseille
FRAME Museums
1936 establishments in France