The Annonciade Museum in Saint-Tropez was founded in 1922 by Henri Person and André Turin as Muséon Tropelen, the town’s first art museum. It was intended to present works by contemporary artists living or working in Saint-Tropez or nearby. The first collection included 32 works by artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Maximilien Luce, Charles Camoin, Louis Valtat, Ker-Xavier Roussel, Henri Manguin, Paul Signac, and Théo van Rysselberghe, and was first shown in one room of the town hall.
After Henri Person’s death in 1926, his widow helped establish the museum permanently in the town. From 1936, Georges Grammont supported the project and provided artworks. The museum has occupied the upper floor of the Chapelle Notre-Dame de l’Annonciade in central Saint-Tropez since 1937. The chapel, built around 1510, was later altered and repurposed before Louis Süe remodeled it for the museum. The museum gained exclusive use of the building in 1950. Its collection focuses on works by artists around Paul Signac and includes Pointillism, Fauves, and Nabis works from 1890 to 1950, as well as paintings, drawings, and sculptures.
Nearby Objects
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Eglise Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption 300 m away -
Cemetery of Saint-Tropez 750 m away
From Chapel to Museum
The Annonciade Museum began as MusEon Tropelen, founded in 1922 by Henri Person and Andre Turin as the first art museum in Saint-Tropez. It was intended to present works by contemporary artists living or working in Saint-Tropez or nearby, and it initially held 32 works by artists including Pierre Bonnard, Maximilien Luce, Charles Camoin, Louis Valtat, Ker-Xavier Roussel, Henri Manguin, Paul Signac, and Theo van Rysselberghe. At first, the collection was shown in one room of the town hall, despite limited municipal interest.
After Henri Person died in 1926, his widow took the initiative to establish the museum permanently in the town. From 1936, Georges Grammont supported the project and contributed artworks. In 1937, the museum moved into the upper floor of Chapelle Notre-Dame de lAnnonciade in central Saint-Tropez, a building that had been constructed around 1510 by the Confrerie de penitents brotherhood. The chapel became state property during the French Revolution, lost its bell tower in 1821, and was later used as storage and then as a sailboat workshop. Louis Sue remodeled the building for museum use, and the museum opening in 1937 coincided with the ground floor being used as a theater venue.
The museum gained exclusive use of the building in 1950. Since 1955, it has displayed the 56 works of the Grammont collection, which was given to the state as a foundation.
Collection Focus
The museum collection focuses on works by artists around Paul Signac. It includes works associated with Pointillism, Fauves, and Nabis from 1890 to 1950, as well as paintings, drawings, and sculptures. The collection has extensive works by Paul Signac, including Port de Saint-Tropez from 1899. It also contains Pointillism paintings by Georges Seurat, Maximilien Luce, Henri Edmond Cross, and Tho van Rysselberghe.
Symbolism and Fauvism in the Collection
The Annonciade Museum collection includes a notable group of Nabi and Symbolism paintings, among them La soupe d'Annette by Edouard Vuillard, Nu devant la cheminée by Pierre Bonnard, Misia a son bureau by Felix Vallotton, and La premiere toilette by Maurice Denis. It also contains works associated with Fauvism, including Andre Derain's Pont sur la tamise, Maurice de Vlaminck's Le pont de Chatou, Raoul Dufy's Jetee de Honfleur, Henri Manguin's La gitane a l'atelier, Georges Braque's Paysage de l'Estaque, Kees van Dongen's La gitane ou La curieuse, and Georges Rouault's Paysage Biblique. Additional works in the collection are by Albert Marquet, Jean Puy, Henri Matisse, Charles Camoin, Othon Friesz, Roger de La Fresnaye, Aristide Maillol, Suzanne Valadon, Maurice Utrillo, Francis Picabia, Robert Delaunay, and Andre Lhote. Together, these holdings indicate a broad representation of early modern painting within the museum's Sammlung.