Nestled among rolling vineyards between the historic city of Aix-en-Provence (14km) and the stunning Luberon Valley (21km) you will find Château La Coste. Purchased by Irish real estate developer Paddy McKillen in 2002, the ordinary has been transformed into the extraordinary. Château La Coste is now a stunning domain set within 600 hectares, dedicated not just …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Here’s a suggestion for an interesting art lover’s outing, about an hour’s drive from Aix-en-Provence.  La Commanderie de Peyrassol is not only a successful Var vineyard producing 500,000 bottles of wine a year but is a fast-growing contemporary sculpture park. …Continue reading here for details from Lynne’s visit to …

Contributor blog post by Margo Lestz: Night Nurse Needed – Should be young and pretty. This was the ad Henri Matisse placed with the nursing school in Nice, France in 1942. He was seventy-two years-old and still working while recovering from a serious surgery. He required constant care and needed someone to …

Contributor blog post by Susan Manfull: There were just a few paintings still to hang when I left Lourmarin in late September. Before departing—and two days before the opening–I popped by to see Jacqueline Bricard, proprietor of the naïf art gallery bearing her name and curator of the “Regard Naïf Européen” …

At first glance, one might think nothing much has changed at Ateliers Fourwinds since my last visit four years ago. Which, is exactly what the new partners want for this artistic workshop (atelier) space with its natural vistas of the Alpilles. Their desire was to breathe new artistic energy into this …

As a painter in the South of France, you rarely feel alone. There are reminders everywhere of those who have gone before – of Cézanne in the countryside around Aix and of Gauguin and Van Gogh in Arles and Saint-Rémy. But not all these impressions are specific to a place. …

Contributor blog post by Barefoot Blogger: One of the first artist friends I made after moving to Uzes was Andy Newman, an American with deep roots in France. Andy had read my blog and emailed to tell me about himself, that he and his partner had a home near here, and …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Sixty paintings by Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) went on show June 10th in Aix at the Caumont Centre d’Art’s summer show. The painter, was born to English parents in Paris, hasn’t been the subject of a retrospective since 2002. Forty per cent of this show includes paintings from private collections not …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: A room dedicated to Sandro Botticelli at Avignon’s Petit Palais was inaugurated in April following the Louvre’s decision to send the artist’s ‘Venus aux Trois Putti’ south to join the existing Madonna and Child. This permanent display also incorporates work from Botticelli’s pupils. The collection …

Contributor blog post by Aixcentric: Permanent installation by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei at Chateau La Coste It’s entitled Ruyi Path after the ceremonial sceptre that symbolises power and good fortune in Chinese history; and the artist has followed the shape of the sceptre for a new pathway that weaves between the trees of …