Antibes outdoor sculpture: Le Nomade

A visit to Antibes is incomplete without paying respect to Jaume Plensa's Le Nomade sculpture looking out to the Mediterranean.

This summer was no exception. It was an easy enough short walk up the ramparts from the beach below, when taking a break from the water.

I've always loved that one can go inside the sculpture too, as it is an open mesh of letters.

Looking up at the pure blue sky from within Le Nomade is a pleasure.

In strong sunlight, the shadows cast by the sculpture are sharp and interesting. I am always expecting to see random words with all the letters of the sculpture, but in my annual visits to Antibes, I have never actually picked out a single word!

Antibes - musée Picasso and La Colonne à la mer

Every summer when I am in Antibes, I always check out the beautiful Picasso Museum in the Chateau Grimaldi.  I knew there had been renovations done inside, and was delighted to see more of the permanent collection given space. 

While walking past the museum, sculptures by Germaine Richier are visible peering over the walls. When inside the museum, this area is an outdoor sculpture garden, and visitors can also peer over the walls at the sea and at people walking on the ramparts below.

 A new addition to the Picasso Museum collection is La Colonne à la mer by Bernard Pagès. There is another sculpture by Pagès in the outdoor sculpture garden at the museum, but I really like the fact that this one is on the ramparts and fully accessible to pedestrian passersby.

The sculpture is made from stone from nearby Vence, painted steel and coloured concrete. According to the wall plaque on the rampart, it took about twent eight years to complete, 1989-2017.

I liked the way the strong sun made shadows play on the sculpture to become elements of the sculpture itself. There is another sculpture by Bernard Pagès in the museum, but I definitely prefer La Colonne!