Musée Simon Ségal d'Aups

What you'll see

• More than 280 canvases on display, presented as a collection of modern and contemporary art.
• Three schools of painting are represented: the School of Paris, the School of Toulon and the School of Bourges.
• 58 canvases are by the hand of Simon Ségal, who gives the museum its name.
• The place itself — the chapel of the former Ursuline convent — is part of the visit.

Simon Ségal, the painter

• Simon Ségal (sometimes spelled Segal) was born in Białystok in 1898 and died in Arcachon in 1969.
• A figurative painter linked to the School of Paris, he emigrated to France in 1925 and was naturalised French in 1949.
• His style is described as austere, synthetic and strongly expressive.
• He painted portraits, landscapes and marine scenes, and produced illustrations; his memory is kept alive by the Association des Amis de Simon Segal.

An art museum on the doorstep of the Verdon

• The museum occupies the chapel of the former Ursuline convent, a complex with a long religious history that has been converted into a cultural venue.
• The core of the collection comes from the private collection of Mr Bassano, exiled in France, who donated it to the village of Aups.
• The donation is presented as a gesture of gratitude for the welcome the collector received in Aups.
• The museum adds to the heritage offering of Aups, separate from the Maison de la Truffe and the truffle market that otherwise make the village famous.

Why Aups

• Aups is a village in the Haut-Var (83630), on the doorstep of the Gorges du Verdon, within the Lacs et Gorges du Verdon area.
• The village combines Provençal heritage, a market and proximity to the great natural sites of the Verdon.
• Its location, between Lac de Sainte-Croix and the Var hinterland, makes it a cultural stop on the Verdon route.

Frequently asked questions