Mature Flâneur

Naked in the Garden (#2)

Surprising statuary in a garden in Menton, Côte d’Azur

Tim imitates art. Outside the Beaux Art Museum in Menton, France. Photo: Teresa Erickson. All others by Tim Ward

I was not surprised to see a naked woman in the garden — a very common sight in France, at least for a woman made of marble or stone. I’ve written about the French love of nude statuary already, in Paris:

Naked in the Garden

But there was a remarkable gathering of nudes here in the garden of the Beaux Arts Museum in Mention, near Monaco, where Teresa (my beloved spouse) and I recently spent a pleasant afternoon. And they weren’t simply queued up on display, as you might find in a museum, or lining the entrance to a grand palais. These statues were artfully placed within the garden’s luxuriant foliage — all part of the region’s lush micro-climate — so that their white forms contrasted vividly against the deep greens, creating a unique artistic effect.

The Beaux Art Museum in Menton