Aix en Provence – In Search of Cézanne

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If you were to question me forcefully and make me confess, then I would probably say that if you exclude food and wine then my most favourite facet of the culture and art of France would have to be the paintings of the Impressionists. Provence and its landscape are synonymous primarily with Paul Cézanne, if you discount the issue with Van Goghs ear that is. Paul Cézanne was born and later died in Aix en Provence. Although a proportion of his output was composed in Paris it is his work in Provence and particularly in Aix that probably is more well-known and appealling to people as quintessential Cézanne. Since taking an interest in Impressionism I have always admired and enjoyed his work. I have seen many of his and the other Impressionist art works in museums in Paris, especially at the Musee D’Orsay. It is a thrill to see such great art at close quarters.

I had not however visited Aix, so it was time to put that right. Cézanne lived much of his life in Provence and for some of that time he had the challenging task of hiding from his father the fact that he had a son, Paul, by his lover Hortense. His father to a degree supported Cézanne in his chosen career by means of an allowance which would be lost to him if he were discovered to be living contrary to his father’s standards. This delicate situation was ultimately resolved, and he gained a studio at the family home Bastide du Jas de Bouffan in Aix. His complex relationship with Hortense was by the start of the 20th Century very strained and he was now in the last decade of his life. Cézanne needed peace and somewhere to be left in solitude to paint. This led him to build an isolated studio high up above the town of Aix on the Chemin des Lauves, now known at the Atelier Paul Cézanne. It is open to the public. We should visit, so we set off towards Aix, a place that would be a new experience, but a town I had lofty expectations of in view of its illustrious son.

On arriving in Aix we first of all decided to walk down the Cours Mirabeau and browse the shops and restaurants lining both sides. This is of course the main street in Aix and although not as famous as the Champs-Élysées in Paris it is the thoroughfare that you most strongly associate with Aix. Cours Mirabeau tries to be just as trendy as Paris. It is a beautiful street with fountains along the way and lined with old plane trees giving shade in front of the shops, cafés, and restaurants. No question though, it can be a tourist trap and prices on the terraces of the cafés are high, but what a spot for people watching. This is the place to see and be seen in Aix en Provence. We deviated off the Cours Mirabeau through narrow streets and passageways to reach the Place Richelme where there is a local produce food market held every day of the week. This small, tightly packed square encapsulates every sight, sound and more importantly smell of a market in Provence previously constructed in your imagination. Fresh bread, vast range of cheeses, meats, cold air-dried saucisson of course, mushrooms, fruits of the region and some hot food stalls, especially the tempting chicken rotisserie with the potatoes being sautéed in the cooking juices. Interspersed between are flower stalls and along with the incredible smells from the olive sellers they turn the square into a glorious assault on the senses. Stopping for a coffee at Bar de l’Horloge at the end of the market we then retraced our steps back up the length of the Cours Mirabeau to the underground car park and made our way up to Atelier Paul Cézanne, not too far from the centre of Aix.

The area is unpromising, very 1970’s apartments, and the studio is quite difficult to find. I park the car in amongst the apartment blocks and walk through to find the studio of Cézanne. I have the feeling that the area was a little different back in the time when Cézanne had this studio built. Peace and tranquillity would be a little bit harder for him to find today. The studio of Cézanne does though give out the impression of an oasis of calm and the views he would have enjoyed around the area and down the hill towards the centre of Aix would in his day have been quite beautiful. The house has the ubiquitous French shutters that you would expect to see in the South, painted in that faded matt red/brown that was beloved of the Impressionists. You can see the same colour on shutters and doors in the village of Giverny, famous as the home of Monet in the last decades of his life. 

Immediately inside the house you collect your ticket and to be honest find that the first impression (sorry) is not very promising. There is little to catch your attention that may in some way relate to Cézanne’s time here, but the scene changes dramatically for the better as you ascend the stairs to his studio. As soon as you step inside this magical space you are transported back in time, over a hundred years, to a studio that surely you feel is still being used to create great art. As you stand in the centre you imagine looking over your shoulder towards the door and seeing Cézanne walking briskly through, brushes in hand, ready for a day of creation.  One of the most atmospheric rooms I have been in.

You could argue you are let down to a degree in that there is nothing here that Cézanne actually created, there are no finished works as of course these almost priceless objects are now in museums or private collections. That is though what makes this room special – you must imagine. You need to look at the objects, the high artist steps, the large easel, the tables and drawers left as they were when he last left the room, still ready for use. Other props Cézanne used such as the pottery, baskets, and fruit (replaced regularly). There is the wood and canvas deckchair with footrest. The selection of books neatly resting on the bookcase. A crucifix placed high on the wall, reflecting Cézanne’s conversion to Catholicism quite late in his life. There are the skulls that Cézanne painted in his last works as he contemplated his mortality knowing that he was coming to the end of his life here in Aix.  You feel that Cézanne, if he walked in would not notice the admirers who have visited his studio today and would simply set up his easel and start to paint, calm and happy in his own space. Like many other places in France, I appreciate being able to let my imagination wander and fill the space from my mind’s eye.  This is how I like my history and the Atelier Paul Cézanne is a joy.

We take our leave and go outside, passing the climbing plants and stone plant troughs, pretty metal table and chairs and back into modernity and our car.  Where to next in our search for Cézanne? Inevitably it must be a view of Montagne Sainte Victoire as we head out of Aix on the A8 AutoRoute. The mountain range of St Victoire is impressive and is a considerable length of formidable rock. If you can spend a little time here, then what you do appreciate about this range is that the thing that most impressed and inspired Cézanne was obviously the play of light on the ridged exterior of the mountain. That is still the same, unaffected by climate change. As with most outdoor artists Cézanne loved the effect of changing light, and you certainly are aware of that spectacle when casting your eyes on this famous mountain. It would have been ideal for us to have gone to the fishing village of L’Estaque, another spot that was synonymous with Paul Cézanne. We decided on a compromise. Instead, we headed to the coast and the village of Cassis. We also wanted to call at the village of Bandol, Domaine Tempier, and purchase their heady Bandol red wine.

I am not sure how familiar Cézanne was with the wines of Bandol but at Cassis port we were very aware of the spectacular light that Cézanne would have treasured when creating his works of art in this region. He surely must have enjoyed the fish and seafood coming out of the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean – we certainly did. He must surely have sat at a seafront table in L’Estaque with a bottle of rosé as we did here in Cassis. We came in search of Cézanne; we were richly rewarded on a very full and tiring day that left us immensely satisfied in theming our day around this great painter.

I encourage you to do the same.

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