Les Bassacs map cushion

Jane Revitt, artist and designer who regularly comes to Les Bassacs, has produced this beautiful cushion of the area.

 

She has used a map from 1903, first published in La Grande Encyclopédie.  It is easy to see where Les Bassacs is in relation to the artful shading which denotes the relief in the landscape and lends it its distinct graphic feel.  Jane's wonderful cushion can be bought from her website here

The towns and villages that are picked out reflect the shift in population that has taken place since 1903, with Croagnes being given a prominence that it wouldn't now have as its population has dwindled to 3 or 4 permanent residents.  This fluctuation in population is the same for many of the hameaux shown on the cushion.

Croagnes serves as a good illustration of this process.  It seems to have been continuously inhabited from roman times when it had a substantial villa, it was noted as a community of some standing in 997, and by 1122 had a cleric and a group of inhabitants regularly attending church services.  In 1293 there were 10 families living there when they were granted the right to a communal bake house to cook their bread. By 1396, following the hundred years war,  the place was ruined and abandoned, not to be repopulated until 17th century when it reached its zenith comprising a community of 70 families. The fact that it had a church in 1903 probably merits its appearance on the map.  Les Bassacs would have undergone a similar evolution.

Croagnes from Les Bassacs

part of the cross in the centre of Croagnes

Programme 2014

 The programme for 2014 is ready, a little delayed after two of our tutors, who shall remain nameless, went AWOL at a crucial moment!  You can see what is on offer by clicking on Arts in Provence 2014 brochure

End of season

 

Since the end of the season we have been in Antibes, Berlin and England.  Planning for 2014 is well underway with a few loose ends to tie up before we can confirm the dates.  

October has been a warm and sunny month and one of our neighbours commented the other day that we could still be running courses, the weather has been so stunning.  The warmth has meant that the garden needs watering and today the Rosa Banksiae decided to have another go at flowering. It has put forth a clutch of rosebuds and an open bloom, its first since May!

We appreciate a chance to get out and explore the valley before the winter sets in and we are always looking for new outcrops of ocher which might serve as painting spots. This abandoned quarry near Roussillon provided us with some spectacular shapes and colour juxtapositions.

As well as some very beautiful mushrooms lurking in the soft sandy soil.

Early morning view from the terrace

 

A cloudy start to the day was enlivened by the rising sun making Roussillon glow, producing this rather startling effect to entertain us over breakfast.

Snails!

The massing of millions of tiny white snails has long been a feature of the Provencal summer, with every post or fence by mid July being festooned with these little creatures.  This species of snail Cernuella is very common in Provence and have adapted to the summer heat by undergoing aestivation a dormant state which prevents them from drying out in the hot weather.  The snails are edible and feature in a traditional Provencal soup.  I can't see us serving them any time soon for supper at Les Bassacs though!

Lavender Cutting

We are back from our short break in August and there is a definite feel of late summer in the air.  Until 3 weeks ago David was painting until 9.45 pm, but now dusk is on us almost an hour earlier.  We are however rewarded with beautiful warm, still evenings when the countryside is awash with deep greens and inky black shadows.

The lavender was harvested weeks ago and has been left to dry where it was cut; little stooks litter the fields.

 

When we first came here all the lavender was cut by hand using small sickles but now it is a rare sight.  This field between Les Bassacs and Les Cordiers has been cut in the traditional way. The crop is small and not large enough to warrant the use of a harvester.  Once dried these stooks were pitched into a trailer.

 and taken to be processed at the distillery at Castellet which is run by this lone and ancient distiller!

Hot colour and thunder clouds

We have hot, hot weather here as has most of Europe. While we expect it at this time of year, what we are not used to are the daily evening thunder clouds and occasional downpours that they bring. 

The upside of these evening showers is that the countryside is blooming and the colours are beautifully fresh. 

 

Albert Camus at Lourmarin

Occasionally we venture south of the Luberon to Lourmarin for a day's painting and picnic in the grounds of the beautiful renaissance chateau.

Albert Camus had a long association with Lourmarin and he is buried in the town's cemetery. David took a break from painting and photographed his grave.

Camus was friends with the poet Renee Char and initially looked for a house near him in L'Isle sur la Sorgue, but eventually bought a house in Lourmarin using his prize money from the Nobel Prize for literature which he won in 1957.  Camus was captivated by the beauty of the Luberon hills which dominate the northern view from the village.

He wrote in his diaries of  'The first star over the Luberon, the enormous silence, the cypresses' describing the Luberon as ' this solemn and austere land in spite of its overwhelming beauty'. For him living in Lourmarin was  'un halte de paix dans la voyage de la vie'. The view across the plain to the valley of the Aigebrun reminded him of the plain of Mitidja in Algeria where he grew up.

Camus died in a car crash just south of Paris at the age of 46 and was buried in Lourmarin. In 2009 President Sarkozy put forward plans to rebury him in the Pantheon in Paris.  His son objected and so for the moment his remains stay at Lourmarin.

Pont Julien

artist crosses ancient bridge

During Paul Thomas's week the group painted the Pont Julien just below Bonnieux.   The bridge, which was open to traffic until 2005, was built in 3 BC, it has had over 2000 years of continuous use!  It is both sturdy and beautiful.  The river Calavon which runs beneath it is at this time of year a pleasant trickle, but in times of flood it becomes a raging torrent.  The Romans who built the bridge using local stone,  allowed for the river's seasonal variation and wisely gave it high arches and 'dégueuloirs', additional arched openings through which the flood water could freely flow.

It is the last remaining intact bridge on the Via Domitia the Roman road which linked Italy with Hispania. 

Orchids

Pat Johns,  who is here painting this week,  has an eye for spotting orchids and finds them wherever we go.  This morning she and Stephen (whom I should credit for the pictures) went out walking on a circuit around Les Bassacs rather than going to the market at L'Isle sur la Sorgue.  Tucked in amongst the abundance of wild flowers in the woods and meadows at the moment, they found two beautiful and delicate orchid varieties, both with self-explanatory names!

Bee Orchid

Pyramidal Orchid