the vieux village - Musee D'Art Classique De Mougins

Press Pack

PRESS RELEASE
MUSEUM LAYOUT
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MACM IN THE VIEUX VILLAGE
OF MOUGINS
BIOGRAPHIES OF CHRISTIAN LEVETT & MARK MERRONY
THE MUSEUM GUIDE BOOK
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
OFFICIAL OPENING 10 JUNE 2011
Contents Press Release / June 2011
The new Mougins Museum of Classical Art (Musée d’Art
Classique à Mougins, or MACM) celebrated its official opening
on 10 June, in the centre of the Vieux Village of Mougins in the
Côte d’Azur, South of France. This private museum holds an exceptional
collection of over 700 works of ancient, neoclassical,
modern, and contemporary art. The founder of the museum is
Christian Levett, a British investment manager, who has had a
passion for collecting works
of this nature for many years.
In 2008, Levett decided to
establish a museum in Mougins,
where he has a house,
to exhibit part of his collection
and share it with the public.
Directing the museum is
Mark Merrony, who gained
a doctorate in Classical Archaeology
at the University of
Oxford, and is Editor-in-Chief
of Minerva, the International
Review of Ancient Art and Archaeology.
The museum is unique that
it displays, with in the same
space ancient, neoclassical,
modern, and contemporary
art in order to highlight the
considerable influence of the
ancient world on the great artists
from Sir Peter Paul Rubens
to Damien Hirst. The museum
focuses on the reciprocal influences
of the civilisations of
Egypt, Rome, and Greece,
and the continuity of the Graeco-Roman legacy through to the
present. This museographic concept also underlines the importance
of the interaction of cultures from East to West rather than
the chronological development of each civilisation. The works
displayed throughout the museum range from fine Graeco-Italic
vases to the colossal statues of emperor Hadrian and empress Domitia,
to the delicate Roman bronze representation of Heracles.
These interact with over 100 drawings, paintings, and sculptures
by artists including Paul Cézanne, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau,
Salvador Dali, Michel-Martin Drolling, Raoul Dufy, Antony Gormley,
Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Henri Matisse, Henry Moore,
Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, Marc Quinn, Auguste Rodin, and
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec.
The Mougins Museum of Classical Art was established in a 400
m² Medieval house which has been completely refurbished to
accommodate the collection, whilst retaining its original façade.
The Levett collection is presented on four floors. The Egyptian basement
gallery is designed as a crypt to display funerary masks,
tomb reliefs, and extraordinary painted coffins, dating from the
Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC) to the Ptolemaic period (305-
30 BC). The ground and first floors are devoted to Greece and
Rome. The ‘People and Personalities’
gallery on the ground floor
houses a significant collection
of marble portraits and statues,
including the emperors Augustus,
Tiberius, Claudius, Nero,
Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, and
famous characters including Socrates
and Alexander the Great,
the greatest military leader of all
time. The ‘Gods and Goddesses’
gallery on the first floor concentrates
on the beliefs and religious
practices of the Romans and the
Greeks, through the display of
bronze and marble sculptures of
the most famous gods – Athena
(Minerva), Artemis (Diana), Zeus
(Jupiter), Aphrodite (Venus). The
‘Social Customs’ gallery captures
the daily life of Roman banquets
with fine glass, bronze, and
silver tableware. On the second
floor, the Armoury contains the
world’s largest private collection
of armour, helmets, shields
and weapons, giving a realistic
impression of the daily life of soldiers
in the ancient Greek and
Roman world.
The Mougins Museum of Classical Art enjoys the rich historical
background of the Côte d’Azur, and is situated in the historic region
of the Mediterranean at the edge of ancient Greek civilisation
and the heart of the Roman Empire, close to the Graeco-
Roman settlements of Nice (Nikaia), Cimiez (Cemenelum) and
Antibes (Antipolis). Mougins also reconnects with its ancient past
through the modern art produced by its former residents including
Francis Picabia, Jean Cocteau, and Man Ray, as well as
Pablo Picasso who spent the last 12 years of his life here.
The museum celebrated its official opening on Friday 10 June
2011 with a spectacular Graeco-Roman themed party and fireworks
in Mougins Vieux Village.
Bronze over life-size head of Apollo. The idealised eliptical hollow cast head has a smooth forehead gently arching eyebrows and an aquiline nose. The lively
and richly textured coiffure produces a contrast with the smooth and almost austere countenance suggesting that the image is a deity. The eclecticism and
high quality of workmanship indicate that it is a Roman interpretation of Greek prototypes such as the Severe style Apollo omphalos usually attributed to the
mid-5th century BC sculptor Kalamis, and works of the early Hellenistic Period. 2nd Century AD. Height: 36.9cm.

Bronze Thracian helmet ornately decorated with an embossed and incised image of a winged youth above a gabled brow band. The helmet is a rare complete
example with cheek pieces that covered the lower part of the face and are decorated with a stylized embossed beard. 4th century BC.Height: 34cm. MMo-
CA.170.
Museum Layout
The collection is split across 4 galleries:
The Crypt is the subterranean gallery which houses the Egyptian collection and its special association with the Afterlife. Artefacts include
a splendid range of tomb reliefs, funerary masks and panels, smaller gods and goddesses in bronze and wood, and culminating
in two spectacular painted wood coffins. The material represents the span of Egyptology, from the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BC) to
the Ptolemaic period (332-30 BC). These are complemented with modern works by Alexander Calder, Jean Cocteau, Giovanni Panini,
and Giovanni Battista Belzoni’s early 19th century Wall rubbing of the head of Seti I.
The Ground Floor features the People and Personalities gallery, created to satisfy the public’s perpetual interest in the great historical
personalities of Ancient Greece and Rome. A series of exquisite marble heads, busts, and statues – several over life-size – take the
visitor on a tour of the mighty Roman emperors and personalities including Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, Hadrian, and Marcus
Aurelius, Domitia and Socrates, the father of modern philosophy. Interspersed with these works are a number of sculptures, drawings,
and paintings by artists including Alessandro Turchi, Michel-Martin Drolling, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Henry Moore, Francis Picabia,
Paul Cezanne, Egon Schiele, Jean Cocteau, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, and Marc Quinn.
Bronze appliqué of Medusa inlaid with silver. 2nd-3rd century AD. Height: 14.5cm. MMoCA.315.

The First Floor continues the dynamic of ancient and modern art with the Gods and Goddesses and Social Customs galleries. Here
the emphasis shifts from historical personalities to ancient religion and various aspects of everyday life. Greek gods and their Roman
counterparts – Aphrodite (Venus), Artemis (Diana), Athena (Minerva), Apollo, Hermes (Mercury), Hercules (Herakles), Odyseus, Zeus
(Jupiter) – are displayed in the form of fine bronze statuettes, marble heads, busts, and statues. The modern interest in Greek and Roman
banqueting is addressed with Greek and Roman silver bowls, glass and silver drinking vessels, Greek ceramic vases, and Roman
candelabra. The Roman banquet would not be complete without the large floor mosaics displayed on the adjacent staircase, or the
opulence of high living as represented by the collection of Greek and Roman jewellery, and gold coins.
Alongside these ancient works, the galleries display classically-inspired paintinfgs and sculptures by artists including Sir Peter Paul Rubens,
Georges Braque, Marc Chagall, Salvador Dali, Yves Klein, Amedeo Modigliani, Andrée Masson, Edgar Degas, Auguste Rodin, and
Keith Haring, their work reflecting many aspects of Graeco-Roman life.
The juxtaposition of an ancient statue of Venus with Venus Bleue by Yves Klein and the Birth of Venus by Andy Warhol, and the display of
an ancient bust of the emperor Caracalla, one of the cruellest of the Roman emperors, alongside a drawing by Henri Matisse, possibly of
the same bust, are particular feaures of museum.
The Armoury, on the second floor, contains the world’s largest private collection of Graeco-Roman arms and armour. Its impressive
variety of Chalcidian, Corinthian, Illyrian, Pilos, and Phrygian helmets, body armour, a unique lion shield, and Roman and Migration
period helmets, brand it of the greatest historical significance: soldiers lived, fought and died in this equipment, and much of it bears the
scars of battle from some of the greatest military campaigns in history. This sits alongside a head of the greatest military leader of all time,
Alexander the Great, and a range of military-themed art.
Silver Kantharos (drinking vessel). Circa 1st century BC. Diameter: 8.5cm; Height: 9cm. MMoCA.392.
The establishment
of the Museum in
the Vieux Village
of Mougins
Established in a Medieval house which has been entirely renovated except for the original restored façade, the Mougins Museum of
Classical Art presents over 700 ancient, neoclassical, modern and contemporary pieces of art and artworks. Approximately 400 m2
and four floors are organised meticulously across four galleries: Egypt in the basement, Greece and Rome on the ground and first floors,
and the Armoury on the second floor.
This private museum reflects the rich history of the region, which is renouned for its ancient Greek colonies and Roman remains. In fact,
a series of discoveries in Mougins indicate a substantial Roman presence on and around the hill of the old village. The town of Mougins
is also closely linked to the art world, due to former inhabitants Pablo Picasso, Francis Picabia, Fernand Léger, Jean Cocteau and Man
Ray, some of whose artworks are in the Levett collection. The town, situated on the Côte d’Azur, is also famous for its spectacular views
over Cannes, the Valmasque forest, the Lérins Islands and the Alps, and for its gastronomy, luxury hotels and the beauty of its old village,
which from an aerial view resembles a snail. It is away from the busy tourist areas on the coast and close to the Musée Fragonard and the
perfumeries in Grasse, the Fondation Maeght at St Paul de Vence, the Picasso Museum in Antibes and the Matisse Museum in Nice.
Bronze statuette of Aphrodite removing her sandal. 1st-2nd century AD. Height: 19.7cm. MMoCA.301

Biographies The Museum Guide Book
Christian Levett
The founder of the museum, Christian Levett, is a British-born investment manager who has had a passion for history, art and collecing
since childhood. From the age of seven he made regular visits to coin and medal shops in the south-east of England, where he bought
medals dating from the First World War, and Victorian coins. As an adult he quickly became successful in the finance sector, and at the
age of 25 his work took him to Paris. There his interest in history was rekindled by regular visits to the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay,
and his passion developed as he began to collect 18th and 19th century furniture for his homes in London and Monaco. During a visit
to the British Museum he came across a nearby shop selling British and Roman coins, and began collecting ancient coins again.
By his 30s, Christian Levett had acquired several homes, decorating them with antiques and neoclassical, modern and contemporary
art. Then he discovered the antiquities market, and began to buy the Roman marbles and ancient militaria which now form the keystone
of the collection.
Members of the Levett family have lived in the South of France since 1995, and Christian Levett has a house in Mougins. In the summer
of 2008 he explored the idea of founding a museum in the village. Given the quality and variety of his collection of ancient art it was
agreed that the idea was a good one – with the addition of modern art with a classical theme. This made perfect sense in a village
and region that has both a strong artistic tradition and a reputation for its Graeco-Roman heritage. The decision having been taken, a
building was found to house the museum, and in the subsequent three years a wide range of additional art and artworks were added
to the collection.
In establishing the Mougins Museum of Classical Art, Christian Levett is able to share his passion with others and afford the academic
community the opportunity to study this historically important collection.
Mark Merrony
The Director of the Museum, Mark Merrony, read a BA (Hons) degree in Archaeology at the University of Wales, Lampeter (1993-6);
a Master of Philosophy in Classical Archaeology at Wolfson College, Oxford (1997-8); a Doctor of Philosophy at Somerville College,
Oxford (1998-2000); based, in his time at both colleges at the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Oxford. He was supervised
during his doctorate by Dr Julian Raby, based at the Oriental Institute, Oxford. Julian Raby was appointed as Director of America’s
national collection of Asian art (2002), housed in the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, DC. Mark Merrony was jointly supervised by Professor Claudine Dauphin, based at he Paris-Sorbonne University.
He was recently elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) at Burlington House in the Royal Academy. He was
Editor of Minerva: the International Review of Ancient Art and Archaeology for five years and has been Editor-in-Chief since 2009.
Mark Merrony has conducted archaeological fieldwork in Lesotho, southern Africa; Europe; Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan,
Lebanon, and Syria; and was the Director of the Ford Roman Villa Project in south-west Wales.
His academic interests are in Roman architecture, art, and design, and is the author of numerous articles, book reviews, and news
features in Minerva, as well as a number of peer-reviewed academic journals. He was the author of The Vikings: conquerors, traders
and pirates (London, 2004) and is presently writing Dracula: life, death, and resurrection based on the medieval Romanian Prince of
Wallachia. Mark Merrony edited the Mougins Museum of Classical Art catalogue and authored two chapters.
Among his remaining ambitions is a desire to work with schools and colleges in Europe and the United Kingdom to encourage, inspire,
and assist – where possible – people from a range of backgrounds to study archaeology and history.
The Guide Book, edited by Mark Merrony, contains a detailed study of every aspect of the collection, and is divided into 16
thematic chapters, many of which have been written by world experts in their fields, as follows:
1. From House to Museum
Mark Merrony
2. A History of Mougins
Julianne Coutts
3. Ancient Egypt
Peter A. Clayton
4. Greek Art
John Boardman
5. Roman Marble Sculpture
John Pollini
6. Roman Mosaics
Mark Merrony
7. Roman Bronzes
Jeffrey Spier
8. Roman Silverware
Jeffrey Spier
9. Roman Jewellery
Jeffrey Spier
10. Materials & Manufacture
Murray Eiland
11. Graeco-Italic Militaria
Mike Burns
12. Roman Militaria
Marcus Junkelmann
13. Greek Coins
Max Tursi
14. Roman Coins : Classical Tradition
Christopher Howgego
15. Rubens & Neo-Classical Art
Dalya Alberge
16. Classical Modern Art
Dalya Alberge

Practical information
Musée d’Art Classique à Mougins
32, rue Commandeur (museum)
5 Rue des Mûriers (office)
06250 Vieux Village de Mougins France
Tel +33 4 93 75 18 65
www.mouginsmusee.com
pressinfo@mouginsmusee.com
Opening Hours
May – September: 09:30 – 20:30. Open every day. Late night openings until 22:00 every Thusday until 31st August
October – April: 09:30 – 19:00. Closed on Mondays.
Prices
Adult 12 €
Child (10 – 17 years) 5 €
Children -10/ disabled free
Senior 60 + 7 €
Groups of 10+ 10 €
Students and scholars 7 €
Information online : www.mouginsmusee.com
Press contact:
Leisa PAOLI
Tel +33 (0)7 86 43 24 36
leisapaoli@mouginsmusee.com