{"id":78786,"date":"2015-08-12T12:11:22","date_gmt":"2015-08-12T02:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/?p=78786"},"modified":"2015-08-12T12:11:22","modified_gmt":"2015-08-12T02:11:22","slug":"cezanne-aix-en-provence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/2015\/08\/12\/cezanne-aix-en-provence\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u00e9zanne in Aix-en-Provence: a painter’s pilgrimage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/a>Between 1902 and 1906, Paul C\u00e9zanne walked into the north of Aix-en-Provence twice a day, every day. He would walk up the hill to the quiet Terre des Peintres<\/em> for its stunning vantage point of Gardanne and Montagne Sainte-Victoire, a beacon of Provence<\/a> and the subject of many of his paintings.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And now, more than a century after his death in 1906, the impressionist painter\u2019s influence can still be found all over the city: from restaurant and school names, to museum exhibitions, and perhaps most noticeably, a gold plaque-marked walking path through the city, highlighting everywhere from where C\u00e9zanne lived to where he died.<\/p>\n

Whether you are an expat or a Francophile traveler, it\u2019s easy to walk where C\u00e9zanne walked through Aix<\/a>, even unintentionally. But to truly experience his impact on the city, there are four sites you cannot miss.<\/p>\n

Begin your journey at C\u00e9zanne\u2019s atelier<\/span><\/h3>\n

Begin at C\u00e9zanne\u2019s atelier<\/a>, which can be found just north of Aix-en-Provence. His workshop has been preserved just as it was<\/a> when he was painting there in his later years. The walls, decorated with skulls, tiny mannequins and fruits, are the same blueish gray that C\u00e9zanne himself mixed for optimal light reflection. And the open panel in the wall, where he would push his larger canvases through to examine them in the light, is still open.<\/p>\n

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

Discover C\u00e9zanne’s inspiration at the Terrain des Peintres<\/span><\/h3>\n

From the atelier, follow directly in C\u00e9zanne\u2019s footsteps and walk up the hill to the Terrain des Peintres<\/a> yourself. Today, the platform is enveloped by his paintings of the famous Montagne Sainte-Victoire and Gardanne, all still visible and peeking through the fields of oliviers<\/em>.<\/p>\n

C\u00e9zanne was well into his 60s when he made his voyages to the Terrain – 20 minutes from his atelier\u00a0and 40 from his apartment – lugging easels and paints and canvases to capture the orange tiled roofs, oliviers<\/em>, and of course, the mountain herself.<\/p>\n

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

Sainte-Victoire is a sort of calling card for Provence. She is visible from the Aix TGV train station and from bus routes spanning nearly to Marseille. At the summit lies la Croix de Provence, a large cross most visible from the north side of the mountain. The mountain is representative of the region, and of C\u00e9zanne\u2019s canon.<\/p>\n

Le p\u00e8re de l’art moderne<\/em>\u00a0at the Mus\u00e9e Granet<\/span><\/h3>\n

When C\u00e9zanne was alive and painting in Aix, the owner of the Mus\u00e9e Granet<\/a> said there would never be any of the painter’s work\u00a0exhibited as long as he was running the museum. Nestled in Aix\u2019s Quartier Mazarin, it now has a room dedicated to ‘le p\u00e8re de l’art moderne<\/em>‘ (father of modern art), where ten of his canvases are on display.<\/p>\n

\"MyFrenchLife\u2122<\/a><\/p>\n

Nearby, look for a canvas<\/a> of C\u00e9zanne painting at the Terrain des Peintres, with Sainte-Victoire in the background.<\/p>\n

Finish with a film at the Caumont Centre d\u2019Art<\/span><\/h3>\n

In May, the Caumont Centre d\u2019Art<\/a> opened in Aix\u2019s centre-ville<\/em> with a featured exhibition of Canelletto\u2019s paintings from Italy to England. But as a permanent piece, the hotel particulier<\/em>-turned-museum features a 30-minute film of C\u00e9zanne\u2019s life, from his relationship with his father and his son, to his most iconic pieces. The documentary-esque film is the perfect way to end your painter\u2019s pilgrimage, as it was filmed on location at the atelier and throughout Aix-en-Provence.<\/p>\n

\n

Will you follow in the footsteps of C\u00e9zanne in Aix-en-Provence?<\/strong>\u00a0Have you already been to some of these sites?\u00a0<\/b>We\u2019d love to hear your stories in the comments below.<\/p>\n

\n
Image credits:<\/span>
\n1, 3 & 4\u00a0\u00a9 Anne Elder.<\/span>
\n2. Interior: Atelier Cezanne<\/a>, by Steve Wilde, via Flickr.<\/span><\/address>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Follow the footsteps of Paul C\u00e9zanne in Aix-en-Provence, where the French painter drew the inspiration for some of his most famous works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9485,"featured_media":78789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[1081,1105],"tags":[1443,1475,1477,1550,2631,1703,98,1796,191,2246,213,2247,217,2597,237,255,281,397,1128,1366],"class_list":["post-78786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-escapades","category-experience-experience","tag-off-the-beaten-track","tag-guide","tag-city-guides-2","tag-travel-tips-2","tag-vie-francaise-guides","tag-city-guide","tag-art","tag-aix-en-provence","tag-escapades-2","tag-french-painter","tag-france","tag-french-painting","tag-francophile","tag-paul-cezanne","tag-french-history","tag-french-travel","tag-in-english","tag-provence","tag-arts-culture","tag-travel-in-france"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9485"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}