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  2. Patrimoine
  3. Provence Alpes Côte d'Azur
  4. Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
  5. 04400 Barcelonnette

  6. Blue Villa in Barcelonnette

 Blue Villa in Barcelonnette dans les Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine de vilégiature
Villa

Blue Villa in Barcelonnette

    1 Avenue Porfirio-Diaz
    04400 Barcelonnette
Private property
Museums of France
All houses and villas classified in France
Villa Bleue à Barcelonnette
Villa Bleue à Barcelonnette
Villa Bleue à Barcelonnette
Crédit photo : MOSSOT - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1929-1931
Construction of the villa
10 mars 1987
First entry MH
9 juillet 2002
Second entry MH
XXe siècle (label)
Heritage of the 20th century
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Fronts and roofs; the stained glass window of the main hall (Box AD 369) : inscription by order of 10 March 1987 - The entire villa as well as the park, the gates, the fence on the wall-bahut and the facades and roof of the accompanying farm house (Box AD 369): inscription by decree of 9 July 2002

Key figures

Camille Jean - Sponsor Founder of *Francia Maritima* in Mexico City.
Joseph Hiriart - Architect Co-conceptor with Tribout and Beau.
Georges Tribout - Architect Associated with Hiriart and Beau.
Georges Beau - Architect Member of the designer trio.
Jacques Gruber - Master glass Author of Art Deco stained glass.
Paul Daum - Glass Bathroom decor.
Schwartz - Ferronier Director of ironworks.

Origin and history

The Villa Bleue is one of the emblematic Mexican villas of Barcelonnette, built between 1929 and 1931 for Camille Jean, a local merchant and founder of the department store Francia Maritima in Mexico City. It embodies the modernist architecture of its time, combining geometric rigor and bold polychromy, while celebrating the economic success of the Barcelonnettes in Mexico. Its central window, the work of master glassmaker Jacques Gruber, represents the textile factories and the Mexico store, symbols of the prosperity of its sponsor.

Designed by architects Joseph Hiriart, Georges Tribout and Georges Beau — active in Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Paris — the villa is distinguished by its broken roof in orange tiles, its central hall illuminated by a zenithal glass roof, and its exterior iron-to-cheval stairs. Schwartz's ironworks and Paul Daum's blue glass paving stones in the bathroom complete this Art Deco decor. The villa ends half a century of holiday architecture in Barcelonnette (1880-1930), marking the culmination of this movement linked to emigration to Mexico.

Ranked a historic monument in 1987 (façades, roofs and stained glass) and in 2002 (whole of the villa, park and outbuildings), it is also labeled 20th century Heritage. Its 10,455 m2 contemporary building park combines orchards, conifers and flower hedges, reflecting the harmony between architecture and nature. Porfirio-Díaz Avenue, where it is located, pays tribute to the Mexican president who has favoured the growth of the barcelonet colony in Mexico.

The Blue villa illustrates the cultural and economic link between Barcelonnette and Mexico, through a hybrid aesthetic combining European modernity and Mexican influences. Its stained glass window, ironwork and suspended staircase make it a unique testimony of art deco applied to private housing, while telling the history of the returned families made fortune.

Today, the villa remains a symbol of local heritage, protected for its architecture and history. Its inscription among historical monuments and its 20th century Heritage label underline its importance in the architectural and memorial heritage of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum