Meeting the Impressionists in France
with Artist Christina Thoen
Along the French Impressionist Path as been a theme tour
for VM Travel since 2005 and every year I manage to find some new gems to help
us better understand the lives of these renegade artists!
This June, Christina Thoen, artist and certified art
teacher and eleven of her students landed in Nice, France to learn their
stories.
The first day we gathered in the 15th century
artist town of St Paul de Vence. After
perusing the art boutiques of this village we delighted in a gourmet lunch in
the gardens of Colombe d’Or, a favourite of Picasso and Matisse whose works
still adorn the walls of the antique dining room.
Close to Nice and the Mediterranean Sea lies Les Colettes,
Renoir’s estate where he lived with his wife Aline and their children. His motivation
to move to the Côte d’Azur was to ease the discomfort of his rheumatoid
arthritis in order to finish his days as an artist. Many of his compatriots
joined him under the ancient twisted olive trees which still adorn the gardens
to this day.
Further along the autroroute in Aix-en-Provence, Cézanne’s
studio remains untouched. One feels his presence in this small space. His cloak and umbrella in the corner remind
us of his daily treks along the country road to Mont St Victoire which he
captured on canvas 142 times. 
That afternoon at the beach in the pastel fishing village
of Cassis resulted in some reference photography before we headed off to the
Mas St Antoine just south of Avignon to our garden lodging. The Kiwis, gardeners and cooks shared the
culinary delights of Provence with us under the Platane trees. We were to enjoy
five warm, sunny days in this gite lodging. In fact our first day we spent at
the Mas with a breakfast of croissants, cheeses and delicious coffee before
taking a dip in the pool before Christina gave us our first lesson in water
colours!
The next day a refreshing rain cleared the air so the
colours popped in the Provençale countryside. After our visit to a winery in
the reputed Chateauneuf-du-Pape which gave us the scoop of these world renown
wines, we were anxious to capture these intense colours with our brushes.
Every Wednesday St Remy de Provence hosts one of the most
colourful markets(more reference photography) in the south of France. Close by
is St Paul Maussole where Van Gogh was hospitalized with roaming privileges,
resulting in some of his most famous pieces: Sunflowers, Irises, and Starry
Night. We chose to sit amongst the Olive Trees, as he did, to capture the light
and shadows of these cranky trees with the blue Alpilles mountains looming in
the background. Just by chance, we enjoyed a Van Gogh presentation in the Image
Cathedral of Les Baux de Provence!
Thursday we continued down the Van Gogh path in the Roman
city of Arles as I led us along his footsteps, past the Yellow House (no longer
standing), the Arles Arena, the Hotel Dieu where he was hospitalized and
painted the garden, then on to the Place du Forum (Roman) where we enjoyed a
pastis and lunch at the Café Van Gogh. This is the Café La Nuit, Christina’s
favourite so we all painted the bright yellow awning just a Vincent did! What a lovely connection!
Gourmet Pizza Night around the pool was our farewell
dinner with the Kiwis (Keryn and Kerrin) as we prepared to leave vibrant
Provence for Paris!
With the theme of Impressionist Art our Paris visit
included the Musée d’Orsay (the former Gare d’Orsay turned into the
impressionist art museum) and the Orangerie housing Monet’s giant water lilies.
The morning on the Butte Montmartre where the impressionists regrouped helped
us understand the support they got from each other as they initiated their own
Salon des Refusés of which there were 7 before they became accepted into the
art world.
Our day in the country in Giverny, Monet’s Gardens was
busy with tourists, but the garden and the lily ponds were in their glory for
everyone to see. We returned to Paris via Auvers-sur-Oise, the small village
where Vincent Van Gogh died and is buried next to his brother Theo in the
village cemetery. The Cathedral (famous Van Gogh Painting) is also in this
village so we spent our fourth lesson with Christina in the shadows of this
ominous structure. A touching final moment was standing in Vincent’s bedroom in
Auberge Ravoux as our guide described the final days of his life. It was a
somber ride back to Paris!
Our farewell dinner at the 120 year old Chartier
Restaurant and our evening cruise along the Seine, around Notre Dame and past
the twinkling Eiffel Tower was a glorious finish to our tour to Meet the
Impressionists in France!
Thanks Christina! Merci beaucoup to all of you: Janelle,
Bonnie, Simon, Kelly, Colleen, Cory, Denise, Nicole, Phoenix, Diane, Madelaine
and Maria. You were great travellers!
2021! Venice and Croatia!
