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Origin and history

The Zervos Museum - Romain-Rolland House is a modern art museum (1925-1965) located in Vézelay, housed in an old house where the writer Romain Rolland lived from 1938 until his death in 1944. Opened in 2006, it presents the collection left over in 1970 by Christian Zervos, critic and publisher of art, founder of the Cahiers d'art (1926-1960). The latter met the great artists of the 20th century, including Picasso, whose catalogue he began in 1932 at the request of the artist.

The ground floor exhibits sculptures by Henri Laurens, a Calder mobile, and a room dedicated to Picasso and Julio González, illustrating their artistic ties. Upstairs, works by Giacometti, Kandinsky, Miró, Ernst (La Sauterelle), and Nicolas de Staël represent currents from the 1920s to the 1950s. Romain Rolland's room, preserved intact, and the attic houses the Cahiers d ́art, ancient Mediterranean objects (Cyclades, Egypt, archaic Greece), as well as Fernand Léger's first mural, made in Vézelay.

The building, with medieval basements and a terrace opening onto the Morvan, was also the work place of Zervos. An association, the Christian Zervos Foundation (created in 1983), chaired by Christian Limousin, continues its legacy. The museum benefits from the label Musée de France and highlights more than 700 works, as well as Rolland's work firm, highlighting the dialogue between modern art and historical heritage.

The legacy of Yvonne and Christian Zervos, composed of modern and contemporary works, is the heart of the collections. The house, classified at 33 Rue Saint-Étienne, combines literary (Rolland) and artistic (Zervos), while offering a panorama of the avant-gardes of the 20th century. The medieval vaulted spaces and the view of the Morvan reinforce its anchor in the Burgundy territory.

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