Saint-Paul, Alpes-Maritimes
Encyclopedia
Saint-Paul or Saint-Paul-de-Vence is a commune
in the Alpes-Maritimes
department in southeastern France. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera
, it is well-known for its modern
and contemporary art
museums and galleries such as Fondation Maeght
which is located nearby.
The property prices in Saint-Paul-de-Vence have been stable recently, hovering around €10,000 per square metre. Prices of medium-sized villas in good locations are between €2 and €5 million.
, Simone Signoret
and Lino Ventura
, and poet Jacques Prévert
.
Saint-Paul is also well-known for the artists who have lived there, such as Marc Chagall
, and more recently the couple Bernard Henri Levy and Arielle Dombasle
.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes
Alpes-Maritimes is a department in the extreme southeast corner of France.- History : was created by Octavian as a Roman military district in 14 BC, and became a full Roman province in the middle of the 1st century with its capital first at Cemenelum and subsequently at Embrun...
department in southeastern France. One of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
, it is well-known for its modern
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
and contemporary art
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
museums and galleries such as Fondation Maeght
Fondation Maeght
Fondation Maeght is a museum of modern art situated in Saint-Paul de Vence in the south of France about 25km from Nice. It was founded by Marguerite and Aimé Maeght in 1964 and houses paintings, sculptures, collages, ceramics and all forms of modern art....
which is located nearby.
The property prices in Saint-Paul-de-Vence have been stable recently, hovering around €10,000 per square metre. Prices of medium-sized villas in good locations are between €2 and €5 million.
Population
Notable people
Saint-Paul de Vence has long been a haven of the famous. During the 1960s, it was frequented by French actors Yves MontandYves Montand
-Early life:Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, the son of poor peasants Giuseppina and Giovanni Livi, a broommaker. Montand's mother was a devout Catholic, while his father held strong Communist beliefs. Because of the Fascist regime in Italy, Montand's family left for France in...
, Simone Signoret
Simone Signoret
Simone Signoret was a French cinema actress often hailed as one of France's greatest movie stars. She became the first French person to win an Academy Award, for her role in Room at the Top...
and Lino Ventura
Lino Ventura
Lino Ventura , was an Italian actor who starred in French movies.-Biography:Born as Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura in Parma, Italy to Giovanni Ventura and Luisa Borrini, "Lino" dropped out of school at the age of eight and later took on a variety of jobs...
, and poet Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert
Jacques Prévert was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain very popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. Some of the movies he wrote are extremely well regarded, with Les Enfants du Paradis considered one of the greatest films of all time.-Life and...
.
Saint-Paul is also well-known for the artists who have lived there, such as Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Art critic Robert Hughes referred to Chagall as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century."According to art historian Michael J...
, and more recently the couple Bernard Henri Levy and Arielle Dombasle
Arielle Dombasle
Arielle Dombasle is a French-American singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough roles were in Éric Rohmer's Pauline at the Beach and Alain Robbe-Grillet's The Blue Villa...
.
- American writer James BaldwinJames Baldwin (writer)James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
, died in Saint-Paul de Vence in 1987. - British actor Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
, died in Saint-Paul de Vence in 1995.