Press - On the Maeght side
Bonnard, Braque, Chagall, Giacometti, Léger, Miró… How did a ward of the nation become the friend and patron collector of these giants of modern art? From Cannes, where he opened a printing press in 1932, to Saint-Paul-de-Vence where he established his foundation – which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year – Aimé Maeght dedicated his life to painters, poets and musicians. Yoyo Maeght recounts this extraordinary destiny with all the passion inherited from his grandfather.
Sabrina Silamo text and interview
Arts Magazine: After Maeght: the passion for living art and The Marguerite and Aimé Maeght Foundation, Art and Life, this is the third time that you have told the story of your family. How does this work differ from previous ones?
Yoyo Maeght: In my first two books, I retraced the history of the Maeghts on the public side: the printing press, the gallery, the works, the artists, the Foundation... This time, I bring it to life on the private side. I tell my memories. Not those collected through confidences, because very often those who knew Aimé Maeght talk about what he did (that is to say his track record) and not who he was. To find out, and as I am rather picky, I spent hours studying pre-war newspapers from Cannes or Nice, listening to sound documents or watching videos found from collectors, from the Pompidou Center library or of Ina. Once all the pieces of the puzzle were put together, I discovered why artists loved this man.
We always emphasize Aimé Maeght's confidence in his artists.
It's true. He supports Giacometti when no one wants him. And each exhibition he devotes to the sculptor ends in resounding failure... But it must be added that if he trusts the artists, they repay him. When Ella Fitzgerald sang at the Foundation on Inauguration Day in 1964, my grandfather had yet to prove himself. He's just a gallery owner who publishes a magazine, Behind the Mirror, and beautiful works. However, he convinced this famous jazz singer to come to Saint-Paul-de-Vence, a village located in a region which is not yet known for its festivals apart from that of Antibes.
Where does he get his power of conviction?
Of his passion. His main driving force was to distance himself as much as possible from the sadness of his childhood and the horrors of the war, the loss of his father, who died in 1914-1918, and that of his son, Bernard, who died in 1953 in the age of 11. His second motivation: to dazzle his wife. Now, Marguerite nothing bluffs her! She is so sure that her husband will achieve great things. I admit, however, that he must have been unbearable: he moved too quickly, without ever taking the time to explain what he was doing.
Does the community of artists as Aimé Maeght wanted in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, surrounded by Bonnard, Matisse, Calder and so many others, still exist?
No. To live, a community needs a leader, and things have changed a lot. Perhaps the art world is even reaching a turning point. When we have to call to the rescue a rapper Pharrell Williams (curator of the “Girl” exhibition, at the Perrotin gallery, in Paris last June, editor’s note) to get people talking about an exhibition, it’s because art is no longer sufficient in itself. In any case, in Saint-Paul de-Vence, Jean-Louis Prat, who managed the place for thirty-five years, did not succeed in bringing together artists who are now in demand from all sides. They present their works there, sometimes donate them, but no longer want to belong to a community. What remains is the Foundation imagined by artists, with its workshop and library, the Giacometti Courtyard, the Miró Labyrinth, the mosaics of Marc Chagall and Braque, the Pol Bury Fountain, and the formidable relationship established between the work of art and the visitor.
You have resigned from your position as administrator of the Foundation. Was the legacy too heavy to bear?
It's not that heavy to carry, and it's great to share. With this book, I have passed the baton, I am no longer the only owner of this story, and I feel free to devote myself to my personal projects. I have a passion for architecture. And even more so for architects, creators who have not found their place among the general public. A bit like the photographers, around forty years ago. They were able to gain their independence, establish their own scale of values and become popular. I have the same ambition for architects. Make them accessible, not only through exhibitions or editions, but by making people understand the creative process of great men like Oscar Niemeyer, Frank Gehry or Jean Nouvel.
A chic, worldly and popular family
Renamed Yoyo by Jacques Prévert, the granddaughter of Aimé Maeght (born in 1959), whose mother made her believe that she had been found on the steps of a church, remembers. Lively openings of the Parisian gallery where everyone in Paris flocks, trips in the Rolls to "the garden of air conditioning", the apartment furnished with Perriand chairs... like Braque working in blue, the spirituality of 'Ubac, from Chagall's Russian accent. The child who learned “to see the world like Miró”, who became a publisher, gallery owner, exhibition curator and consular judge, recounts the joys and torments of a “chic, worldly and popular” family. A testimony over three generations which ends with police custody and his resignation from the Foundation. Breathtaking. The Maeght saga, by Yoyo Maeght
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