Aix-en-Povence & Paul Cézanne

 

The traditional town fountain, in Aix-en-Provence.

Our last blog, here,  continued our trip to Corsica through Italy. This blog follows us to the town of Aix-en-Provence back in France, and a special exhibition about the painter Paul Cézanne.

The drive from Ventimiglia, on the French border, to Aix-en-Provence took only a couple of hours. As the name suggests,  Aix is located in that special region in south-east France know as Provence.  In fact, it is, at least by reputation, the quintessential Provençal city.

Our interest, though, went beyond sightseeing: Aix was the home of the noted painter Paul Cézanne, and the city was hosting a special exhibition of his life and work.

In addition to the town itself, there were three parts to the exhibition that interested us: the Jas-de-Bouffan, Cézanne's home; the studio he built a short distance outside town; and the museum that had gathered his paintings from around the world for this special showing.

Aix-en-Provence

We'd heard of Aix for, well, forever. After all, it's considered the "quintessential Provençal city," to quote our favorite travel author. But we just never got around to visiting it.

Our first stop in any French town is the tourist office, to get oriented and see what's up. Right in front of the office in Aix is this statue of Cézanne, off with his painting gear for a plein air session.

Now that we finally got there we found Aix to be elegant, clean, sophisticated, picturesque; and crowded! Granted, there was this special exhibition, but it was September, traditionally after the summer tourist surge. (Although tourism seems to have expanded into an all-year affair!) Every public square seemed filled, every street thronged. 

The "back side" of the clock tower, Tour d'Horloge. 

Place Richelme, just down the street from the clock tower.

The city is quite charming, with each square seeming to lead to another, equally charming, square. Rick Steves hit it right when he wrote "...its old center offers a postcard-worthy square around every corner." Indeed!

Our favorite patron saint, St. Roch. The train station in Montpellier is named after him! (Also, a church.) We saw him on Corsica, and now again in Aix!

An elegant building on Cours Mirabeau, the "Champs-Elysées of Provence," where the rich and well known of the 17th and 18th centuries would come to see and be seen.
The sign over the door says "Tribunal de Commerce" but who knows what purpose this building serves now!

Dinner time at cafes in the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville.

Eglise Saint-Jean-de-Malte, a 13th century Gothic church right near the Musée Granet.

Bastide du Jas-de-Bouffan

Paul Cézanne's father was a hat maker, and later a banker. His wealth enabled him to acquire a bastide, or county home, just outside of Aix. Paul grew up here, and later inherited the property when his father died. It was given the name Jas-de-Bouffan, perhaps a reference to a sheepfold (jas, in the Provencal language) owned by a Monsieur Bouffan which previously occupied the site.

A traditional (and so very French!) allée leading up to the house.

Our visit started with a walk through the grounds, where easels with reproductions of Cézanne's paintings were set up on the site where they had been painted. It was interesting to compare Cézanne's view—his painting—with the real thing today. Once inside we were lead through the various rooms, with a guide explaining the significance.

View of the main house, with a reproduction of Cézanne's paining.

Another painting (reproduction), of the pool.

Paul had apparently shown some aptitude at an early age, as he decorated the walls of the salon (living room) with his paintings of landscapes and portraits. These works were never destroyed; later, when he'd become famous (mid-20th century) they were carefully removed from the walls and preserved. This was explained to us while we were in the salon of Jas-de-Bouffan, with the paintings projected onto the walls. It was a real "you are there" moment!

Inside the house, in the salon, our guide talks about Paul's early paintings on the walls of the house (here reproduced by projecting the images on the now-bare walls).

Two more of Paul's early works from the walls of the house.

We also saw his bedroom and the kitchen, where the staff prepared meals from the food grown on the  farm next door, also owned by the family (and which is also still there, although no longer a working farm!).

The kitchen food preparation area: that's for warming food, the cooking oven was outside (much better on a hot summer's day!).

Kitchen table, and the stairs leading to the bedrooms.

Kitchen window, and a real French country sink.

And, finally, the studio his father had built for him on the top floor, with large north-facing windows for illumination.

Tall, north-facing windows in Cézanne's studio at Jas-de-Bouffan.

That's the farm back there that provided much of the family's food (and the peasants Cézanne often used as models). The buildings are still kept up but it is no longer a farm.)

      

The Studio

After the death of his father Cézanne sold the bastide and built a studio north of town. The studio has been preserved, and was part of the exhibition. So, of course, we had to visit it.

A photograph of Paul Cézanne in front of one of his paintings. (1904)

The studio and its surrounding property was just a bit outside the city—all uphill! Halfway there we began to regret our decision to walk to it.

But we made it, and were glad we did. The studio preserves many of the items found in his still life works, including a small statue and a vase.

It sat empty for long after his death, but this is how the studio probably looked when he was using it.

The statue of the boy, the blue ginger pot, and the green vase are all elements seen in various of Cézanne's still lifes.

He only had this studio for six years before his death (in 1906), but did some of his most significant works here.

The large, north-facing window in the studio lets in plenty of light.

Models of human skulls, similar to the ones Cézanne used in some of his works.

During his lifetime Paul Cézanne was not well appreciated in Aix. In fact, the director of the local museum, Musèe Granet, categorically stated that no work by Paul Cézanne would ever be displayed. Ironically enough, this was the museum that hosted the recent Cèzanne exhibition!

Immediately after his death no one really knew what to do with the studio. It was closed up and left untouched. Eventually an American donor  bought and preserved it.

Paul Cézanne leaving his studio.
The caption reads:
PAUL CÉZANNE DEVANT L'ATLIER DES LAUVES 1906

The Museum

The final part of our exploration of Paul Cézanne and his works was a visit to the Musèe Granet, which had borrowed Cézanne's works from other museums and private collectors around the world. The collection, in roughly chronological order, gave a good overview of his works and his development as an artist.

Jas-de-Bouffon, the family home in Aix. Looks just like that now! Oh, except for the landscaping.

"Man in a Blue Smock"
Cézanne often used the peasants who lived on the farm next door as models.

La Table de cuisine; aka "Still Life with Fruit Basket"
Painted in the studio just outside Aix. Some of the items in this painting are still in the studio. (But, ah, not the fruit!)

Cézanne's contemporaries were the impressionists, with whom he studied in Paris. But impressionism was of little interest to Cézanne. His still life paintings, with the objects looking a bit unsettled and almost tumbling off the canvas, are seen as an introduction to cubism. So, Cézanne is considered one of the first "modern" painters.

The skulls. Similar to the ones we saw in the studio.

Not part of the museum exhibit! A poster for a film on Cézanne.
He's depicted in plein air, painting one of his favorite subjects, Mont Sainte-Victoire. Visible from outside his studio, it figured in some 80 of his paintings.

We enjoyed the city of Aix-en-Provence, and will no doubt come back again. We also learned quite a bit about Paul Cézanne, both as an artist and personally. Overall,it was a very satisfying visit!

Whew! That's the end of our trip through Corsica, Italy, and Aix. We're settling in to Montpellier for the fall; our next planned excursion will be to Rome in mid-December, and Seville for Christmas. Although our next blog may well be on architecture in Montpellier; we're learning some fascinating things about the growth of the city.

"The Card Players," one of Cézanne's most famous works. It's the final in a series of paintings of two men playing cards.
The models for the men were workers from the surrounding area. The man with the pipe has been identified as the gardener at Jas-de-Buffon.