Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild | Painting History

The Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild was dreamed up by Beatrice Rothschild, a French socialite & art collector, and was built between 1907 and 1912 with architect Jacques-Marcel Auburtin. It was Beatrice’s dream home. Within its walls, she housed her extensive art collection including treasures belonging to Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette (which are still there today!).

The land sits like a boat anchored in the Mediterranean; a peninsula with water on all sides. The Belgian King, Leopold III was eyeing the property himself and when Beatrice learned of this, she purchased it without hesitation.

The gardens were the most challenging part of the construction, and a lot of earth had to be moved to form her vision. She even had her staff dress in green to represent different trees and maneuver different color fabrics so she could decide on the final design. There are nine themed gardens (French, Florentine, Spanish, Japanese, Rose, Exotic, Stone, and Provençal). The Villa was donated to the École de Beaux Arts upon her death.

I knew I needed to paint the villa the moment I stepped out of the car. Like Beatrice, I fell in love with everything about it. The house and the gardens have such a sense of magic and mystery and a touch of adventure. And I tried my best to pour all that into this painting