Zervos Museum of Modern Art (Musée départemental d’art moderne, collection Zervos)
Picasso, Calder and Miró in the Vézelay house where the writer Romain Rolland spent his last years.
- Museum
- 1 h 28 from Beaune
- Allow 1 hour
- Vézelay
€320one way from Beaune with a private driver
At a glance
- Official website
- mdam-zervos.fr
Getting there
Private driver from Beaune: 1 h 28 by road (125 km), €320 one way for the whole car.
Coming by train or plane? Transfers from stations and airports →
About the place
On the main street of Vézelay, a small museum of modern art fills the house where the writer Romain Rolland lived from 1938. It shows the collection of Christian Zervos, the publisher who knew many of the great artists of the 20th century. Works by Picasso, Calder, Kandinsky and Miró hang in calm, pared-back rooms.
What you will see
The ground floor mixes small sculptures and a great cast-iron relief by Laurens with Calder's mobile, and a room where works by Picasso and Julio González hang side by side. Upstairs are Giacometti sculptures and paintings by Kandinsky, Ernst and Miró. Romain Rolland's study, with his desk and piano, is preserved. Under the roof, displays on Cahiers d'art and ancient Mediterranean figures show the breadth of Zervos's taste. A terrace looks out towards the Morvan.
History
Christian Zervos was an art critic and publisher. He founded the review Cahiers d'art, published from 1926 to 1960, and in 1932, at Picasso's request, began the catalogue of all his works. In 1970 Zervos left his collection to the town of Vézelay. The museum opened in 2006 in the house of Romain Rolland, the Nobel Prize-winning writer who died there in 1944.
The collection covers modern art from about 1925 to 1965. It includes sculptures by Henri Laurens and Alberto Giacometti, a large mobile by Alexander Calder, and paintings by Kandinsky, Max Ernst, Miró, Nicolas de Staël and Serge Poliakoff. Zervos also collected ancient objects from the Mediterranean world, such as Cycladic idols. The museum is run by the Yonne department and also stages temporary exhibitions.
Planning your visit
Tips for your visit
Allow about an hour, and combine it with the basilica higher up the same street. Vézelay is about 1 hour 30 minutes from Beaune. The museum is open from early April to early November, and closes on Tuesdays except in July and August. Guided tours and children's workshops are offered. Please check the official website for opening times.
Around here
What to combine with Zervos Museum of Modern Art on the same day, nearest first.
Irancy
28 km away
- Abbey or church
Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, Vézelay Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay
1 km away
Questions
Zervos Museum of Modern Art is about 1 h 28 from Beaune by road (125 km). With a private driver, the trip from Beaune starts at €320 for the whole car, up to 4 guests.
Did you know? Christian Zervos began the catalogue of Picasso's complete works in 1932, at the artist's own request. Volumes of it are displayed under the roof of the museum.
Sources
Zervos Museum of Modern Art with a private driver
€320 one way from Beaune · up to 4 guests