38 French Property News August 2019 http://www.completefrance.comF
or the artistically inclined among us –
whether we’re armed with our own
brushes and easels or simply enjoy the
real-life visual masterpiece that is the Provençal
countryside – there are few better places to
appreciate art in France than the south.
Vincent van Gogh believed that ‘the future of
art’ lay not in Paris, but in Provence. Will you
follow in his footsteps?
Your journey into van Gogh territory will
likely begin with a flight into Nîmes airport,
barely a 20-minute drive from Arles. This is the
location which will be most appealing to fans,
as the landscapes that inspired the legendary
painter’s work can be seen up close.
Despite living in this city for barely more
than a year, it was the one that he favoured the
most of all, a place where he was prolifically
creative and produced some of the most
outstanding art of his career.LOCATION
Buyers looking to retrace the footsteps of Vincent van Gogh and
his friends in search of their own artistic idyll should head for the
picturesque corner of south-east France, says Chloe Govan
Dotted around the city are 10 large easels
marking the key places he re-imagined. For
example, visitors can enjoy a bite to eat at a local
café, standing at the exact location where, 130years ago, van Gogh created the world-famous
Café Terrace At Night. This was also the place
where, in a fit of absinthe-fuelled rage, he threw a
drink over his fellow painter friend Paul Gauguin
before chasing him down the street threatening
him with a razor. After Gauguin escaped, he
turned the razor on himself, finally slicing off
his own ear and offering it to a prostitute at a
local brothel.
Drunken dramas aside, there are many more
wholesome locations for retracing his footsteps.
A Roman necropolis can be visited, as well as a
replica of the Langlois Bridge he painted, and
the scene of his Starry Night artwork. It is even
possible to visit the hospital he stayed in – now
a cultural centre housing his art – and compare
his versions of its ward and courtyard to how
the location looks in the present day. Arles is
full of testimonies of the iconic painter and the
legends he left behind.Paradise for painters
If you can visualise
yourself here, joining
the locals for a game of
boules or taking up your
paintbrush to produce a
watercolour depiction of
the stunning Riviera views,
then this could be your
perfect location
Historic Arles where van Gogh produced some of his greatest work The Matisse Museum in Nice