Gombrowicz Museum in Vence

The museum of Polish novelist and playwright Witold Gombrowicz allows locals and tourists in Vence to learn about the Polish author and his most famous works.

Thanks to the museum, the beautiful Villa Alexandrine has become a tourist attraction and is now part of France’s cultural map.

The museum project was initiated in Warsaw by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Jarosław Sellin together with Loic Dombreval, who was the mayor of Vence.

The project was carried out by Society of Friends of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, National Institute for Museums and Public Collections and Adam Mickiewicz Institute.

Gombrowicz is Translated into many Languages

Witold Gombrowicz is translated into many languages and internationally acclaimed.
Witold Gombrowicz has been described as the ultimate writer’s writer, and his work connects him with philosophers Roland Barthes and Jean-Paul Sartre.

His authorship is both fantastic and absurd with strong ties to existentialism, structuralism and satire. He is among others been praised by Milan Kundera and by one of the 20th century’s great novelists John Updike. He is an anti-nationalist with deep psychological insight, and attacks our ideas of culture, form, true authenticity and literature itself.

In 2004, his native country Poland celebrated his life and work by declaring it Gombrowicz Year, yet he remains largely unknown in the West.

The Final Years of His Life

Witold Gombrowicz spent the last years of his life in Vence and died in 1969, at the age of 65.

His works are still being translated into over 30 languages and the best works include: Diaries, Ferdydurke, Pornography, Cosmos and Yvona, Princess of Burgundia. Many of his works were not fully appreciated until after his death. A familiar fate for many artists!

By Tommy Sverre – 2022