Following the decision of the Architectes des Bâtiments de France, a two-phase rehabilitation of the building’s façade was undertaken, from November 2024 to April 2025 and then from November 2025 to April 2026.

This exterior work has enabled the restoration of the façade and, in its final stage, will see the return of the four statues from the 1913 façade.

Le Negresco draws on its past to bring back the statues of 1913

The Hôtel Negresco designed by the architect Édouard -Jean Niermans was intended to display, from the exterior onward, an artistic ambition and an unprecedented level of luxury. In 1911, the sculptor Michel de Tarnowsky (1870 –1946) received an ambitious commission: the creation of a sculptural scheme for the façade. The four allegorical statues constituted the sole testimony of Belle Époque architecture and aesthetics.

Although the original statues disappeared in the 1950s, they endured through plaster models preserved at Villa Masséna, Museum of Art and History, in the “Architecture and Society” section.

The revival of these emblematic figures was entrusted to SOCRA, a company awarded the Living Heritage Company label and recognised internationally for restoration and sculptural craftsmanship.

Through this initiative, Le Negresco reaffirms its role as an ambassador for heritage and an advocate for French craftsmanship, reinstating within the landscape of Nice works that contribute profoundly to the city’s cultural and architectural identity.