Page 32 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Provence & The Côte d'Azur

30  Introduc I ng provence

Artists of Provence

provence inspired many of the most original 19th- and
20th-century painters. they were attracted by the
luminescent quality of the light here, and the consequent
brilliance of the colours. cézanne, who was a native, and
v v van an gogh, a convert, were both fired by the vibrant shades
of the landscape. the Impressionists Monet and renoir
came early, and followers included Bonnard, Signac and Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) spent
dufy. the two giants of 20th-century painting, Matisse and many years on the coast and created
picasso, both settled here. the artistic tradition is kept alive his museum in Menton (see p103).
by small galleries in almost every town, as well as major Noce imaginaire (1957) is one of his
murals from the Salle des Mariages.
museums throughout the region.
Victor Vasarely (1906–97) restored the
château in Gordes. His Kinetic and Op
Art can be seen in Aix-en-Provence (see p153).
Regions of
Provence

Orange Sisteron
Digne-les-
Avignon Bains
Gordes
Nîmes Area of
main map Menton
Arles
Aix-en-Provence
Martigues St-Raphaël
Marseille St-Tropezropez
St-T
Toulon
Vincent Van Gogh (1853–90)
painted Van Gogh’s Chair (1888) in
Arles (see pp148–50). His two years
here and in St-Rémy (see pp144–5)
were his most prolific. Paul Cézanne (1839–1906), in
his desire to scour the “depth of
reality”, often painted his native Mougins
Aix (see pp152–3).
Vallauris
Le Cannet
Paul Signac (1863–1935) came Golfe-Juan
to St-Tropez in 1892, painting
it in his palette of rainbow dots Cannes
(see pp122–6).
Pointe
Croisette
Félix Ziem (1821–1911), born in Burgundy,
was a great traveller. He adored Venice, and
found the same romantic inspiration by the
canals of Martigues (see p151), where he painted
La Camargue, Coucher de Soleil.
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) created
this goat-like jug, Cabri (1947),
0 kilometres 5 while in Vallauris, where he
0 miles 5 learned the potter’s craft. It is
now in the Musée Picasso,
Antibes (see p77).