One of The Most Beautiful Villages in France
Les Baux-de-Provence is a gorgeous stone village with little shops, narrow streets and small squares. It is known as one of The Most Beautiful Villages in France for good reason!
The village used to be a center for mining limestone and bauxite, but now that the mining is over, one of the quarries has been turned into the most spectacular audio-visual display for art work.
Carrières de Lumières.
This unique art experience is known as the Carrières de Lumières, meaning the “Quarry of Lights”. While music plays through the surround-sound system, enormous masterpieces are projected onto the 64,583 square feet of quarry walls and floors from over 100 projectors, literally enveloping you into the paintings. It is an artistic experience like no other and has brought us to tears with its beauty. It really is one of those things you have to experience to appreciate, but it is guaranteed to blow you away!
Sorolla, Picasso and the Spanish Masters.
This year’s show features a century of Spanish paintings. Entitled “Picasso & the Spanish Masters”, it includes works by Sorolla and other Spanish masters. We are especially excited to see paintings by Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida. This artist was a contemporary of John Singer Sargent (American) and Anders Zorn (Swedish) who was known for his seaside imagery, portraits, and landscapes. He is revered by artists everywhere for his ability to paint light in the most exquisite color palettes. Sorolla is studied and admired by Plein Air painters because of his lively brush strokes and his ability to paint extremely complex works, en plein air. Charles Sovek describes the painting method: “In the studio Sorolla would sometimes use a palette the size of a grand piano lid and 3 foot long brushes to allow him to stand back from his painting.”
We can’t wait!
Picasso.
Naturally, this year’s tribute includes Picasso, the Spanish painter who influenced almost every facet of art in the 20th century. Picasso lived in Provence for many years. It is very fitting that his works will be shown at the Carrières de Lumières where he acted in Jean Cocteau’s film “Testament of Orpheus”.
Jean Cocteau was one of the most multi-talented artists of the 20th century. In addition to being a director, he was a poet, novelist, painter, playwright, set designer, and actor. He filmed “Testament of Orpheus” in this mine over 50 years ago
Also included is Goya, the important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His works take us from enchanting rural scenes to realistic portraits of members of the royal court of Spain.
This popular multimedia art presentation is on the itinerary for all of our French Retreats and Workshops in 2018.
Our treat!
A scene from the magnificent tribute to Klimt at a special showing last year where the tributes to Chagall, The Giants of the Renaissance and Gustav Klimt were shown back to back.
Esoterica
Bauxite is a mineral used in making of Aluminum (Aluminium). Bauxite got its name from this very same Medieval village of Les Baux. So, remember this the next time you’re roasting your turkey under a sheet of aluminum foil!
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Pictured here – Joaquin Sorolla Y Bastida, Self-portrait, 1909
Check out more blogs about art workshops, tips and hacks for artists traveling in France and Scotland.
Bonjour Decoded
To get the most out of your trip to France, you have to connect with the locals – and the best way to connect is to speak their language. Even if you don't speak French, in large cities like Paris, most locals speak a good amount of English. But if you walk up and try...
Sorolla at the Hôtel de Caumont, Aix-en-Provence
For anyone attending one of our two Lavender Art Retreats near Aix-en-Provence this summer, there will be an extra special added event: the Hôtel de Caumont Art Centre in Aix-en-Provence will be presenting an exhibition of the Spanish painter Joaquin Sorolla, entitled Joaquin Sorolla, Spanish Lights.
Americans in Paris, George Gershwin and Gene Kelly
When Workshops in France partners with Vanessa Rothe Fine Art to present the historical workshop Americans In Paris Paint Provence in September of this year, we will be following a tradition that goes well beyond painting.
