With Les Nuits d’été, AD100 designer Pierre Yovanovitch was invited to work his magic on the Villa Noailles, the summer residence of art patrons Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles, who, in 1923, tasked French architect Robert Mallet-Stevens to design the modernist escape within the hills of Hyères, in southeastern France.
In honor of the centennial celebration, Yovanovitch decided to approach the commission as if it had happened today. “I imagined what life might be like for Charles and Marie-Laure today in this residence,” says the designer. In making them feel eternal, Yovanovitch pays tribute to the influence of these two great personalities on the cultural and artistic history of the 20th century, focusing in particular on Marie-Laure. “[She] was a patron of the arts and a collector par excellence, forging affinities with Cocteau, Dalí, Ernst, and Picasso, all major artists whom she supported throughout their careers,” he adds.
In addition to integrating pieces from the duo’s personal archives, Yovanovitch pulls furniture, objects, and works of his own taste that are emblematic of the 20th century and beyond. “By reimagining the Noailles couple’s original home—and creating an imaginary dialogue between them—like a narrative of everyday scenes told to visitors, we aim to bring diverse artistic influences to life and take the public into the intimacy of this visionary couple.”
At the entrance to each room, placards offer brief, albeit rich epistolary exchanges between the twosome, warming visitors into an intimacy not devoid of humor. The villa’s original layout, scrupulously respected by the owners, has been preserved, helping to illustrate the modernity of the Noailles family and Mallet-Stevens—though not without taking into account the evolution of Marie Laure’s tastes over the years.
The renovation tours guests through the Villa Noailles entrance to the reading room, through the dining room to Marie-Laure’s boudoir, from Charles’s study to the living room, and through the dressing room and the primary bedroom. Furniture and works of art from the early 20th century coalesce with Yovanovitch’s contemporary pieces, as do photo portraits of Marie-Laure by Man Ray; sculptures by Alberto Giacometti; and furniture by Pierre Chareau, Gilbert Poillerat, and Serge Roche.
On walls splashed with dusty pink, mustard yellow, and peacock blue, Yovanovitch styles works by artists Miquel Barcelo, Francesco Clemente, César, Bernard Buffet, Alicja Kwade, Josef Albers, Matthieu Cossé, and Xie Lei. Other notables include a portrait of Marie-Laure commissioned for the occasion from Giulia Andreani, and an in-situ intervention by Alexandre Rochegaussen in the viscountess’s bedroom. Together, the assemblage celebrates both the history of the place and the major influence of the Noailles family in the world of 20th-century art and design.
Below, enjoy a glimpse inside Pierre Yovanovitch: Les Nuits d’été, which is on view at Villa Noailles until January 14, 2024.