The Villa Élise

The Francis Bacon MB Art Foundation is located on the ground floor of the Villa Élise, a Belle Époque residence with an old-world charm. Built in 1897, the Villa Élise was chosen for its close resemblance to the various locations in Monaco where Francis Bacon lived and stayed from the mid-1940s onwards. The concept of this intimate setting came from the artist’s remark, about his legendary exhibition at the Galerie Claude Bernard, in Paris, in 1977, that the gallery’s small spaces made his paintings seem more intense.

Bacon’s brief career as a furniture designer in the early 1930s guided the choice of furnishings for the Foundation. Its furniture, rugs and mirrors are strongly influenced by Bauhaus and the work of modernists such as Charlotte Perriand, André Lurçat, Eileen Gray, Marcel Breuer, Pierre Chareau, Robert Mallet-Stevens and Le Corbusier. The materials used set off the muted ambience of the indoor spaces, and every detail of the decor references Bacon’s artistic vocabulary: the curtains, tieback tassels and hanging light-fittings recall graphic elements in his paintings. The light grey and silver-grey shades used on the walls echo the palette of his Monaco period in the 1940s.