Apparently it does rain occasionally in the south of France, and this was one of the days that it did. After many very hot (high 80’s/low 90’s) days, it was a relief to have a drop in temperture and some cloud cover. (Not something you hear this SoCal girl ever say, right?) Anyway, it gave us a chance to head to Aix-en-Provence and follow in the footsteps of Cezanne for the day.
We arrived around midday, having agreed on a slow start to the day. After navigating the narrow streets, some of which were closed due to the morning market, we found a parking garage quite near the center of things. The market was similar to those in the villages, and we found the tourism office right next to the huge Apple Store right on the Place de la Gaulle. A short walk along the main avenue took us to the Granet Museum, which took the name of one of its most generous benefactors, the painter François-Marius Granet in 1949. It owes its origins to the members of the Provence parliament – who cultivated a taste for the arts and history who put together remarkable collections throughout the 17th and 18th centuries for display in their private mansions, making them the pride of the city. The collection includes some Cezanne, Giacometti, as well as French paintings of the 19thC, some sculpture, and a temporary exhibit of the collection from the Jeanne Bucher Jaeger family gallery, which included cubist, surrealism and avant-garde works. It was all quite eclectic.
The Granet XX is in another building nearby, a renovated former Carmelite chapel of 17thC Aix architecture. The collection is that of Jean Planque, who was the Parisian advisor to the Galerie Beyeler. He was able to collect about 100 19th and 20thC master paintings and drawings through opportunities and sheer luck. The collection included Cezanne, Van Gogh, Money, degas, Renoir, Gauguin, Picasso, and was quite impressive.
But there was yet another museum to visit — The Hotel de Caumont Center of Art — a private 18thC mansion. On display were finely furnished rooms which provided insight into the daily lives of the rich and famous. And upstairs a gallery space had a special exhibit of Sisley works, which was one of the best curated exhibits I’ve seen. A lesser known impressionist, the gallery had collected works on loan from museums and galleries around the world to best showcase this under-recognized artist’s impressive and large numbers of works. The descriptions of the paintings and of the various time periods of his life and the changes to his approach to his art was so informative. The house also had a lovely garden, and a tea room with yummy pastries, capping off a perfect afternoon.
A walk through the old part of Aix took us past the Hotel de Ville (city hall), and the Cathedral de Saint Sauveur. Built on the site of the 1st century Roman forum of Aix, and then built and re-built from the 12th until the 19th century, it includes Romanesque, Gothic and Neo-Gothic elements, as well as Roman columns and parts of the baptistery from a 6th-century Christian church. The cathedral is located on the route of the Roman road, the Via Aurelia. A fragment of a Roman wall and the columns of the baptistery have supported the legend that the church was built on top of a Roman temple dedicated to Apollo. It was amazing to see mosaic and frescos from the 7th and 12thC’s respectively.
Finally we headed for the car and encountered a group of students protesting something. I spoke briefly with a woman who had moved down from Paris to get away from the big city and all the noise and dirt, who said that the students always have something to protest.
The 45 minute drive back to the house provided the most beautiful sky — I stopped the car at least once to take a photo or two — it was that awesome. And made clear why so many painters spent time in this region — the light really is quite special. So the sunset was a perfect cap to a day of art.
By the size of the flag, I’d say they were protesting LeMiz.