Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The Vasarely Foundation was born in the 1970s, a period of rapid change for Aix-en-Provence, a city that is growing in demographic and cultural terms. Under the leadership of Mayor Félix Ciccolini, the municipality seeks to balance urban development and tourist attraction. The project of an Area of Development Concerted at Jas de Bouffan, including housing, public facilities and a cultural centre, symbolizes this ambition. It is in this context that Victor Vasarely, a Hungarian artist naturalized French and pioneer of optical art, chooses Aix-en-Provence to establish its foundation, seduced by its dynamism and its Cezannian heritage.

Victor Vasarely himself designed the building, a set of sixteen hexagons inscribed in a rectangle of 87 meters by 40, inspired by his Tribute to Hexagon series. The works, which began in 1973 under the direction of architects Jean Sonnier and Dominique Ronsseray, incorporate technical innovations such as anodized aluminium facades with its plastic motifs. The inauguration took place in 1976. The centre houses 42 architectural integrations, an auditorium, and spaces dedicated to research, reflecting Vasarely's desire to merge art, architecture and technology. The double-revolution staircase, inspired by Renaissance castles but modernized, illustrates this synthesis.

The choice of Aix-en-Provence results from a competition between Avignon, Marseille and the latter, chosen for its accessibility, its motorway network, and its link with Cézanne – the site of the Jas de Bouffan being the one where the painter lived. Vasarely sees it as a symbol of artistic continuity, as evidenced by his message deposited in the foundations: "From Cézanne to Vasarely: we will be worthy." Construction mobilizes local companies, except for advanced technologies, and marks the culmination of the artist's commitment to an accessible, participatory and immersive art.

Ranked Musée de France, the building is distinguished by its zenithal lighting via fourteen pyramidal domes and its optical games, foreshadowing the interior visual experiences. The materials – glass, aluminium, enamels of Briare – and the layout of works, designed to destabilize the visitor, make it a manifesto of kinetic art. After the inauguration, Vasarely supervised interior design, including research workshops and a library, with the help of architect Claude Pradel-Lebar. The foundation thus embodies a utopia: a place where art, science and industry dialogue, anchored in the Provençal territory.

The project is also part of a territorial development logic. The 1970s saw Aix-en-Provence increase from 54,000 to 137,000 inhabitants in 30 years, with urban expansion to the heights (neighborhood of Jas de Bouffan). The foundation, by attracting an international audience, reinforces the cultural image of the city, already carried by its Festival of Lyric Music (created in 1948) and its seven museums. It becomes a symbol of modernity, contrasting with the local historical heritage, while referring to it by architectural winks like the Renaissance staircase revisited.

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