Quick biography of an artist from Aix:
Paul Cézanne
Born in 1839 in Aix-en-Provence. Cézanne was a Post-Impressionist artist who bridged the gap
between late 19th century Impressionism and early 20th
century Cubism. He died in 1906.
Some of Cézanne's paintings:
(Mont Sante-Victoire, 1882-1885)
(Road before the Moutains, Sainte-Victoire, 1898-1902)
(Jas de Bouffan, 1876)
(Pyramid of Skulls, 1901)
If you look at Cézanne’s paintings, a
lot of them are inspired by Provencal elements, and one of his most well-known
paintings is actually of a mountain right outside of Aix. Montagne Sainte-Victoire (or St. Victoire, for short).
Funny thing is, for 1€, you can take a
bus to the base of the mountain, spend the day hiking, and catch the bus home
for another €. Pack yourself a picnic, and you have a beautiful Saturday.
Which is exactly what we did last
Saturday. With minor difficulties finding the correct bus (there are only a
zillion buzzing around Aix at any given moment, so you can understand the level
of difficulty we Americans were facing), we finally made it to the base of the
mountain. The beginning of our journey, we stumbled upon an ENORMOUS body of
water – still not sure if it’s a river or a lake, but it was BEAUTIFUL. And the
hills just jet right out from the water’s edge towards the sky. Then, you keep
following the path, and you find yourself at the top of the most picturesque
canyon of rocks and trees (with what looks to be The Tree of Life from Disney’s
The Lion King off in the distance), keep going, and you venture over the
biggest dam I’ve ever seen. On the left side, the lake/river I was talking
about before, and on the right, the canyon. On the other side of the canyon is
where the real hiking begins. Climbing up rocks and over tree roots at a steep
incline, you come to a clearing filled with wild Rosemary. Of COURSE I grabbed
some, and am planning on cooking with it. Cross your fingers it wasn’t
poisonous.
However, this was the highest point we
saw, because we had to catch the bus home. But! Rumor has it, you can hike up
the mountain, and if you bring your own firewood, you can spend the night in
the old monastery at the top J
…needless to say, my relationship with
St. Victoire is not in the least bit over.
À Bientôt!
Elie
Pictures of Mont Sainte-Victoire:
The Mountain
The Lake/River
The Canyon
The Dam
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