Four Unmissable Works at FAMM (Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins)

If you are planning an art tour of the south of France this summer, make sure FAMM is on your agenda. Located in the picturesque mountain town of Mougins, an artist hotspot once home to Picasso and many others, the museum was founded by collector Christian Levett in 2024 and is exclusively dedicated to women artists. The museum has an intimate atmosphere, with a rotating selection of works from Levett’s vast collection hanging within a converted medieval building. The low ceilings and salon-style curatorial approach enable visitors to enjoy the works from close quarters, with the feel of a private domestic space. The FAMM collection is dynamic, with new acquisitions regularly entering the museum and many works on loan around the world. A selection of 47 Abstract Expressionist works by 32 women artists from the Levett Collection is currently touring US museums, for example. 

A major rehang at FAMM earlier this year shines new light on important artists in the fields of Impressionism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Contemporary Art. Here are our top picks:

Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, Le petit pont de Giverny, c.1920

Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, Le petit pont de Giverny, c.1920

The first artwork visitors see is immediately familiar: a green bridge arching over the iconic water lily pond at Giverny. However, this is not by Claude Monet. It is in fact a painting by Blanche Hoschedé-Monet, his step daughter and daughter-in-law, but more importantly his only student and collaborator. They were known to have painted together en plein air, and therefore many of the same subjects recur in their works. By placing her work at the entrance to the museum, FAMM elevates an artist sometimes referred to as "the forgotten Monet" to a deserved place in the spotlight. 

Leonor Fini, Dans la Tour (Auto-Portrait avec Constantin Jelenski), 1952

Leonor Fini, Dans la Tour (Auto-Portrait avec Constantin Jelenski), 1952

This recent acquisition expands the already impressive collection of works by Argentine-Italian artist Leonor Fini (1907-1996) held in the Levett Collection. Now on display at FAMM, Dans la Tour (Auto-Portrait avec Constantin Jelenski) is a striking self-portrait in which Fini leads one of her lovers through a doorway. Reversing traditional gender roles, Fini is fully clothed, while Constantin is only semi-robed, the side of his body fully exposed to the viewer. The artist portrays herself with one arm outstretched, pointing towards their destination, and physically directing her lover with the other. The power dynamic is clear and the implications are exhilarating. 

Lalla Essaydi, Harem #1, 2009

Lalla Essaydi, Harem #1, 2009

Throughout her artistic practice, Essaydi (b. 1956, Marrakech) finds unique and intimate ways to confront stereotypes, particularly those affecting Muslim women, while conveying the complexities of identity that lie below the surface. In the artist’s own words, “I wish to present myself through multiple lenses, as artist, as Moroccan, as traditionalist, as Liberal, as Muslim.” In this triptych work exhibited in the contemporary wing of FAMM, Essaydi highlights the opulence of this Moroccan palace, with its beautiful tiles, ornate doors and impressive columns. The central female figure is dressed to blend in with her surroundings: her robe camouflages with the tiles, while the intricate henna covering her face, hands and feet further echoes the palace interiors. She reclines gracefully on a sofa, gazing directly outwards towards the viewer in a pose that is reminiscent of the orientalising depictions of non-white women in Western art history. Her status and context are left intentionally ambiguous by Essaydi, inviting speculation and troubling traditionally simplistic interpretations of Arab women. 

Tatiana Trouvé, The Guardian, 2023

Tatiana Trouvé, The Guardian, 2023

This recent sculpture by French-Italian artist Tatiana Trouvé is delightfully deceptive. Humour is a recurring theme in the Levett collection, and often, things are not quite as they seem. At first glance we see a pile of fabrics and a book perched somewhat precariously on a simple stool, a reference to the exhibition guards that are so ubiquitous in the art world. Upon closer inspection, the soft textiles are actually fabricated from marble, the book from bronze, and the stool from brass. Trouvé’s work playfully reminds us to pay closer attention to the world around us, while blurring the lines between function, fiction and reality. 

Location: FAMM (Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins), 32 Rue du Commandeur, 06250 Mougins, France. Website: famm.com; Instagram: @famm_mougins

By Sofia Carreira-Wham