Monday, June 2, 2014
Horses at dusk
Two of Olivier Augier's Appaloosa horses are enjoying grazing an abandoned vineyard in the fields between Les Bassacs and Croagnes. David took this photo of them yesterday on a peaceful and calm evening just as dusk was falling.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Mistral
Our first two weeks have been bathed in bright sunshine which has been great for painting en plein air. The strong sun has brought out a profusion of wild flowers, especially poppies. They are really astounding in the intensity and vibrancy of their colour. We stopped on the way back from Goult to admire this incredible field near Roussillon.
The tell-tale signs of the Mistral can be seen in the dramatic sky. Though it is difficult to paint in, and sends us chasing around looking for sheltered painting spots, there are compensations. Known in Provencal as 'mange-fange' or mud eater, the drying affect of the wind is said to bring good health. It clears the air of any pollution and dust particles. It is of course the reason so many have come to paint here; in pursuit of that very particular Provencal light.
The tell-tale signs of the Mistral can be seen in the dramatic sky. Though it is difficult to paint in, and sends us chasing around looking for sheltered painting spots, there are compensations. Known in Provencal as 'mange-fange' or mud eater, the drying affect of the wind is said to bring good health. It clears the air of any pollution and dust particles. It is of course the reason so many have come to paint here; in pursuit of that very particular Provencal light.
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Spring
We have had a mild spring but with little rain. It has meant the task of getting the house ready for the summer has been much more enjoyable, in stark contrast to last year's cold spring. Then the fruit and wild flowers were at least 3 weeks late, whereas spring 2014 has seen everything well underway.
Last week we spotted our first Hoopoe. They overwinter in North Africa and head north as the mild air engulfs the Mediterranean. This is an exceptionally early arrival this year. David took this photo of a young Hoopoe who spent a long time sitting on our roof top, observing the cats in the garden below, completely unruffled by their presence. It is a very welcome sight with its colourful and distinctive markings, spotted crest and elegant beak which it uses for digging insects out of the earth. Hoopoe's do make it to the UK occasionally if they overshoot their migration routes, because of this they were recently featured on Tweet of the Day on BBC Radio 4.
Olivier Augier from the organic farm at Les Bassaquets has been preparing the large field immediately below the hameau which was formally fallow. Last autumn they ploughed it up and imported some top soil. In January they sowed wheat and this weekend he was out using his beautiful Appaloosa horse to roll the field. He explained that he was breaking the stems of the wheat to make it grow more shoots from the base.
Last week we spotted our first Hoopoe. They overwinter in North Africa and head north as the mild air engulfs the Mediterranean. This is an exceptionally early arrival this year. David took this photo of a young Hoopoe who spent a long time sitting on our roof top, observing the cats in the garden below, completely unruffled by their presence. It is a very welcome sight with its colourful and distinctive markings, spotted crest and elegant beak which it uses for digging insects out of the earth. Hoopoe's do make it to the UK occasionally if they overshoot their migration routes, because of this they were recently featured on Tweet of the Day on BBC Radio 4.
Olivier Augier from the organic farm at Les Bassaquets has been preparing the large field immediately below the hameau which was formally fallow. Last autumn they ploughed it up and imported some top soil. In January they sowed wheat and this weekend he was out using his beautiful Appaloosa horse to roll the field. He explained that he was breaking the stems of the wheat to make it grow more shoots from the base.
Olivier has started a business taking people on trips around the valley in his calèche drawn by his horses Apanor and Alize. Perhaps one of our groups will give it a go!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Water, water, everywhere . . .
Like the rest of Europe we have had an exceptionally mild and rainy winter. Any brief ray of sunshine sees us out exploring this unnaturally watery landscape. The streams and rivers, usually parched even at this time of year, have abundant water running through their courses.
This stream below Gordes is the remnant of a much larger river that flowed through the lower slopes of the village powering a flour mill and an olive mill. In the earthquake of 1887 it changed its course to become largely subterranean. This had dire consequences as they were no longer able to harness the water for the shoe manufacturing business which was an important source of income for the village.
This stream below Gordes is the remnant of a much larger river that flowed through the lower slopes of the village powering a flour mill and an olive mill. In the earthquake of 1887 it changed its course to become largely subterranean. This had dire consequences as they were no longer able to harness the water for the shoe manufacturing business which was an important source of income for the village.
The
Calavon, the river that flows under the Pont Julian, has today breached
its banks in the famous 'submersible' car park in Apt leaving many cars
marooned in a swirl of mud. Our walk along its banks led us to this
watery dead end, forcing us to hastily retrace our steps.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Marc Chagall in Gordes
Marc Chagall left Paris in 1940, concerned about his possible arrest as a 'degenerate' by the occupying German troops. Although his work had been popular in Germany, by 1937 the new German leadership had begun to mock his art, describing his paintings as "green, purple, and red Jews shooting out of the earth, fiddling on violins, flying through the air ... representing [an] assault on Western civilization."
Packing up his Paris studio, Chagall took the paintings off their stretchers and piled them into a taxi. The Chagall family initially moved to Saint Dyé-sur-Loire, then in May 1940 they moved to Gordes, at the behest of his friend André Lhote who already had a house there. They bought an old mill in the Fontaine Basse area of the village. All his work was transported there and he continued to paint in the studio at the top of the house.
During the winter of 1940-1941 Chagall resumed work on The Madonna of the Village.
He was very happy in Gordes and remarked " There, in the south of France, for the first time in my life, I saw that rich greenness—the like of which I had never seen in my own country." However, Chagall was not safe from being deported in Gordes. Varian Fry, envoy of the Emergency Rescue Committee in France, who had arrived in Marseille with the intention of rescuing intellectuals persecuted by the Nazis and helping them to escape from Europe, visited Chagall and offered to help him escape to America. Chagall initially refused the invitation, but when the Vichy government began interning Jews, he realised he had no choice
Of meeting Chagall Varian Fry wrote;
“Spent the week-end with the Chagalls at Gordes. We passed two truckloads of German soldiers between Marseille and Aix and not another car all the way. We arrived in time for lunch. Gordes is charming, tumbled down old town on the edge of a vast and peaceful valley. It used to manufacture shoes, but when shoe-making machinery was introduced its craftsmen moved away and most of the town is in ruins. The Chagall’s house is the only one in the immediate neighbourhood which had not fallen in. I can see why they don't want to leave it is an enchanted place. Chagall is a nice child, vain and simple. He likes to talk about his pictures and the world, and he slops around in folded old pants and dark blue shirt. His “studio” contains a big kitchen table, a few wicker chairs, a cheap screen, a coal stove, two easels and his pictures. No chic at all, as chez Matisse.
In April 1941, Marc and his wife Bella left Gordes for Marseille on their way to the United States. They crossed the French-Spanish border by train, then continued onto Lisbon, where they arrived on 11 May. In Lisbon they waited until mid-June to embark for New York. They left their daughter Ida and her husband behind in the house in Gordes giving them the task of arranging the transportation of Chagall's 600 kilos of paintings. Chagall remained in America until after the war when he returned to France. He went to live in Vence on the Cote d'Azur alongside Picasso, Matisse and Braque.
The Chagall family retained the house in Gordes, Marc staying there occasionally with his second wife Vava. Ida and her second husband took the house on, living and working there until Ida eventually sold it to its present occupier whom we met when taking this photograph.
Packing up his Paris studio, Chagall took the paintings off their stretchers and piled them into a taxi. The Chagall family initially moved to Saint Dyé-sur-Loire, then in May 1940 they moved to Gordes, at the behest of his friend André Lhote who already had a house there. They bought an old mill in the Fontaine Basse area of the village. All his work was transported there and he continued to paint in the studio at the top of the house.
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| Still Life Gordes 1940 |
During the winter of 1940-1941 Chagall resumed work on The Madonna of the Village.
He was very happy in Gordes and remarked " There, in the south of France, for the first time in my life, I saw that rich greenness—the like of which I had never seen in my own country." However, Chagall was not safe from being deported in Gordes. Varian Fry, envoy of the Emergency Rescue Committee in France, who had arrived in Marseille with the intention of rescuing intellectuals persecuted by the Nazis and helping them to escape from Europe, visited Chagall and offered to help him escape to America. Chagall initially refused the invitation, but when the Vichy government began interning Jews, he realised he had no choice
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| Chagall on the steps to his studio |
Of meeting Chagall Varian Fry wrote;
“Spent the week-end with the Chagalls at Gordes. We passed two truckloads of German soldiers between Marseille and Aix and not another car all the way. We arrived in time for lunch. Gordes is charming, tumbled down old town on the edge of a vast and peaceful valley. It used to manufacture shoes, but when shoe-making machinery was introduced its craftsmen moved away and most of the town is in ruins. The Chagall’s house is the only one in the immediate neighbourhood which had not fallen in. I can see why they don't want to leave it is an enchanted place. Chagall is a nice child, vain and simple. He likes to talk about his pictures and the world, and he slops around in folded old pants and dark blue shirt. His “studio” contains a big kitchen table, a few wicker chairs, a cheap screen, a coal stove, two easels and his pictures. No chic at all, as chez Matisse.
 |
| Visit by Varian Fry, Bella and Marc in the garden with Madonna of the village |
In April 1941, Marc and his wife Bella left Gordes for Marseille on their way to the United States. They crossed the French-Spanish border by train, then continued onto Lisbon, where they arrived on 11 May. In Lisbon they waited until mid-June to embark for New York. They left their daughter Ida and her husband behind in the house in Gordes giving them the task of arranging the transportation of Chagall's 600 kilos of paintings. Chagall remained in America until after the war when he returned to France. He went to live in Vence on the Cote d'Azur alongside Picasso, Matisse and Braque.
The Chagall family retained the house in Gordes, Marc staying there occasionally with his second wife Vava. Ida and her second husband took the house on, living and working there until Ida eventually sold it to its present occupier whom we met when taking this photograph.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Eurostar direct train bookings open today
The Eurostar direct train from St Pancras to Avignon tickets are available from today! You can click here to book.
Monday, November 25, 2013
James Bland wins Winsor & Newton Oil Painters Awards 2013
Our congratulations go to James Bland, teaching for the first time at Les bassacs in September 2014, who has won the Winsor & Newton Oil Painters Awards 2013 for under 35's with his atmospheric painting "Reclining Figure, Evening".
It will be exhibited at the Mall Galleries in the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition 2013.
It will be exhibited at the Mall Galleries in the Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Exhibition 2013.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
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.
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.
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| Croagnes from Les Bassacs |
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| part of the cross in the centre of Croagnes |
Monday, November 18, 2013
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
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