La Colonne à la mer

On the old defensive walls of Antibes, with the Mediterranean just below, stands La Colonne à la mer, a nearly nine-metre column by the French artist Bernard Pagès. He built it in 1989 for the bicentennial of the French Revolution, and its eleven great stones come from Vence, some weighing close to a ton each, held together with concrete and metal. Subtle touches of blue, white and red run through the work, echoing the flag that also flies above the Musée Picasso nearby.

The column has already lived two lives. It was first set up in the courtyard of the Hôtel d'Albret in Paris, then spent years in storage before the city of Antibes and the Musée Picasso brought it to the remparts in 2016, on long-term loan from Paris. Pagès, who has lived in the region since the mid-1960s and is associated with Nouveau Réalisme and Supports/Surfaces, renovated the work himself and adapted it for this exact spot. The final position was chosen for its sightline to the tower of the Musée Picasso and the stonework of the old walls, and the assembly itself happened at night so the remparts could close briefly.

The column anchors the Promenade des Arts, a route that also passes Le Nomade by Jaume Plensa. Look closely and you can already read the setting in the sculpture: sea spray and sunlight are slowly changing the surface, so the work keeps adjusting to the walls, the light and the sea around it.