Discover Arles Arles is an excellent example of the adaptation of an ancient city to medieval European civilization. It has some impressive Roman monuments dating back to the 1st century BC. These include the arena, the Roman theatre and the cryptoporticus (subterranean galleries). During the 4th century, Arles experienced a …

Cézanne’s Studio Like most young artists learning to paint, I was attracted to and inspired by most of the impressionistic and post-impressionistic painters. I loved the work of Monet, Renoir, Matisse, Gauguin and Cézanne and many more. When I arrived in Aix-en-Provence for the first time, I rushed up the …

Finally! Carrières de Lumières It’s always good to finally tick something off the list of things you have wanted to do for a while. Last year, we finally got to see the Fête du Citron (now to be an annual event for us). Yesterday I got around to seeing the …

My visit to Fondation Carmignac, the newly-opened art centre at Porquerolles, last year was by far my favourite outing of 2018. I was lucky to get there just before it closed for winter, when lots of the exhibits went back to Paris. The centre re-opened with fresh artworks, on April …

Marseille’s super Musée Regards de Provence has been inspired by the MPG2019 Year of Gastronomy programme and is serving up two foodie exhibitions. L’Art Mange l’Art (until October 31, 2019) has a wide range of contemporary works, all food-themed; there is some witty photography (eg behind the scenes in restaurants) and …

What a terrific show at the Caumont Centre d’Art in Aix. It features the work of Marc Chagall, from his black and white gravures from the 1920s and 30s, via his white marble sculptures, to his joyously colourful gouaches and oil paintings. His small sculptures, featuring entwined couples or biblical …

Here’s the list of upcoming Musée Granet exhibitions (2019) for all art-lovers and visitors to Aix-en-Provence. ‘Traverser La Lumiere’ (November 10, 2018 – March  31, 2019) The works of Roger Bissiere, Jean Bazaine, Elvire Jan, Jean le Moal, Alfred Manessier and Gustave Singier. The organisers tell us that this is a …

Most museums have massive amounts of ‘stuff’ filed, heaped, and mounded away in archives, basements and warehouses. The question is: what do they do with it all? It really is an issue. Marseille’s MuCEM inherited the contents of the Musée National des Arts et Traditions Populaires in Paris and now has …

Porquerolles is the largest of the 3 Iles d’Or (Islands of Gold), easily accessible from the coast. We did the short (20 min) crossing from La Tour Fondu, near Hyères, roughly a 90-minute drive from Aix-en-Provence, depending on traffic. I hadn’t visited Porquerolles for many years and was surprised at …

There seems to have been a deluge of Picasso work recently in Marseille, Aix, Les Baux, and Cannes, but the small exhibition at Aix’s Pavillon Vendome, ‘Villers Picasso—Coup de Soleil,‘ really is worth investigating. André Villers was just 22 and recovering from 6 years in a tuberculosis sanatorium when he …