aixcentric

The Hotel Caumont has been open for 5 years now as an arts centre, and this

Paysage de Provence

current exhibition,’ Nicolas de Stael in Provence’ has to be the best I have seen here.  It focuses on the short time this interesting painter spent in Provence, July 1953-June 1854, when he discovered the luminous sun and beautiful landscapes. He based himself first in Lagnes in the Vaucluse and then in Menerbes but travelled throughout the area, as well as visiting Sicily.

The first floor of the exhibition concentrates on his work in the Vaucluse and we also see his paintings of Marseille and Martigues.  Thickly applied paint in brilliant colour reflected his passionate response to his subjects: ‘One never paints what one sees or thinks one sees; rather one records with a thousand vibrations the shock  one has received…’

Les Martigues 1954

The second floor has a selection of large-scale works inspired by Sicily – he drew in felt-tips there and recreated the scenes in his Provencal studio.

He craved solitude but had a wife and family, as well as passionate love-affairs; he moved to Antibes where he continued to paint until he ended his life in 1955, following severe depression.

Two of his children feature in a short film shown in the small theatre inside the exhibition (in French).

Explanatory panels are in English as well as French and there is a useful guide on sale for 1€ (buy with tickets).

Open daily, 10-19hrs; late night Friday, 20:30hrs.

Entry: 14€

Exhibition ends 23rd September

If you haven’t visited the Caumont Centre d’Art before, you can have drinks and amazing patisseries, and/or lunch in the elegant dining rooms, or even the beautifully-restored gardens, if this rain ever stops.