Musée Ziem

The Ziem Museum was founded in 1908 and houses more than 8000 works: paintings, drawings, photographs, sculptures and various objects. It is located in the city centre of Martigues, in the Ferrières district. Admission is free.
In 1861, Martigues saw the studio of the painter Félix Ziem set up on its shores. In 1839, at the age of 18, he left his native Burgundy and discovered Provence and the Mediterranean Sea.
The shock was immediate. Fascinated, he decided to return a few years later.

Ziem, a travelling painter, travelled to many countries. Always carrying a notebook, he drew everything he saw and constantly annotated his impressions. These sketchbooks, fortunately preserved and donated to the town of Martigues in 1991, are today an invaluable source of knowledge about the work of this artist.

Water and sky play a predominant role in the landscapes for which Félix Ziem is famous. The artist liked classical compositions in which the horizon line, placed very low, allows for large, often very bright skies. They are combined with the sea to create unique landscapes that characterise Martigues as well as Venice or Contantinople, giving these three cities an air of kinship, as Ziem painted the Serenissima or the Golden Horn in Martigues.

On the ground floor and first floor: a regular alternation of temporary exhibitions is offered to the public.

The second floor is devoted to the permanent collection.
- The works of Ziem, his paintings of Venice and Constantinople, including the emblematic "Martigues, les tartanes".
- Fauvist works organised around Raoul Dufy, André Derain, major painters of the 20th century, Francis Picabia and René Seyssaud.
- The works of the Provençal landscape painters, centred on Emile Loubon.

The last floor presents part of the archaeological collections, resulting from excavations carried out on the municipal territory, from prehistory to the modern era, 8,000 years before Christ until the 18th century, and ethnological collections reflecting the importance and omnipresence of water in the daily life of the inhabitants of Martégaux, objects relating to fishing and ex votos.