Posts from the ‘Art’ Category

Aug 10

Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist

Following hot on the heels of Tate’s superb mini-exhibition of Saloua Raouda Choucair, an artist previously unknown to so many art-buffs in the UK (but whose work completely revolutionised my approach to my work, and got me thinking about how I can use gouache in my paintings) comes another retrospective exhibition of a relative unknown as far as big art names go: Ibrahim El-Salahi, whose significant 7-room solo show has recently opened at Tate Modern in London. And what a success it is.

Coming from Sudan (born 1930), El-Salahi’s retrospective is Tate Modern’s first retrospective dedicated to an African modernist. It will also most likely be the first many visitors to the show will have heard of this Modernist artist. Yet El-Salahi’s work is nothing short of stunning – a visual delight of painting, drawing and calligraphy which comes together in a retrospective which exhibits a level of imaginative expression the likes of which I have not seen since discovering the works of Dali. The complexity of some of his drawn black and white images is nothing short of stunning – a mix of figurative and more expressive forms, but culminating to form a visual assault on the viewer whose eyes simply do not know where to begin in the appreciation of these works.

Reborn Sounds of Childhood Dreams I (1962-3) © Ibrahim El-Salahi

Centred on the recent acquisition of Tate Modern, the significant piece entitled Reborn Sounds of Childhood Dreams (1961-5), the exhibition starts off with the artist’s most recent works before delving backing in time to paintings loaded with African earthly brown tones, burnt umbers and yellow ochres representing, as El-Salahi himself says, the African foundations which pervade his work. But asides from the African earthy colours and the occasional tribal mask, El-Salahi’s early work exhibits a complexity of imagery which extends way beyond the continent which has so characterised his work. Islamic imagery, for example, is featured strongly, with Islamic lettering and the crescent moon prominent throughout the show, while perhaps the strongest influence comes from a surprisingly significant immersion in Western culture, an exposure encountered when El-Salahi won a scholarship to London’s Slade School of Art in the 1950s, with particular references to Picasso’s jarred cubist figures showing through from then onwards.

They Always Appear (1966-8) © Ibrahim El-Salahi

Al-Kas (1964) © Ibrahim El-Salahi

The Last Sound (1964) © Ibrahim El-Salahi

Funeral and the Crescent (1963) © Ibrahim El-Salahi

Vision of the Tomb (1965) © Ibrahim El-Salahi

The exhibition moves to the 1970s, a difficult time for El-Salahi when he was compelled to return from London to Sudan to take up the role of Deputy Undersecretary of Culture at the Sudanese Ministry of Information, under the military dictatorship of General Gaafar Nimeiry. However, his tenure ended abruptly in the mid-70s when, in the aftermath of a failed military coup, El-Salahi was accused of anti-governmental activities and imprisoned for 6 months. The art works which follow are abruptly different from the warm earthy umber works of the previous room. Stripped of colour, these black and white works, generally drawn in ink on paper, appear to reject the warm colours of El-Salahi’s African heritage, but are nevertheless some of the most powerful works in the show, demonstrating incredibly skilled draughtsmanship and imagination which is beyond what most of us are capable of. Apparently El-Salahi would begin these works by drawing a small image, the likes of which would gradually expand outwards as he would add paper to allow the image to spread.

The Inevitable (detail) (1984-4) © Ibrahim El-Salahi

From Visual Diary of Time-Waste Palace (1996-7) © Ibrahim El-Salahi

In the 1990s, El Salahi, now in self-imposed exile from Sudan, moved to Oxford, and there, inspired by the verdant British countryside began a series of tree-inspired images. With these, El Salahi injected colour back into his work, and also dappled in more linear, geometric forms. This in turn led to the present, where El Salahi appears to be returning to the earthier browns of his earlier period, but also dapples again in some of the more detailed black and white ink on paper works. But whether brown, black or white, these works, based on a recent trip to Granada in Spain and largely depicting Flamenco (which of course has its routes in Islamic culture, as does Granada itself) are without a doubt the most stunning works of the exhibition. I was held utterly spellbound by one work depicting Granada in those same umbres and ochres, but with a black and white clustered group of flamenco dancers at its centre, their arms thrust upwards in a burst of energy so reminiscent of that point of duende, their figures perfectly arched into the passionate hold of a flamenco dancer in her final crescendoed cry. Dazzling. Spectacular – one of the best works I have ever seen at Tate. Tragically, I can find no image of this work online, which makes it all the more important that you head along to the show to share in these incredible artworks.

Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist is on at Tate Modern until 22 September 2013

Aug 3

3 Comments

Carl Randall steals the BP Portrait Show

Like so many of these annual open-submission art prizes, the annual BP sponsored National Portrait Gallery BP Portrait Award is very often a bit samey. Each year you get the same collection of oversized hyper-realistic magnified photo-like portraits, showing a person’s every vein and blood vessel, the sparkle in their eye and the grey in their hair. While these works undoubtedly demonstrate an often astonishing skill for painting photographically, the same does not automatically equate to a work’s having any artistic merit. Is it original? Does its composition have the power to move or inspire? Is the sitter’s story told in some original or dynamic way? Give me the coarsely applied brush strokes and unrealistic green-tinted skin of a Van Gogh portrait any day. If a painting looks like a photo, then in my view it should remain a photo.

This year’s BP show has its fair share of these oversized gormless faces filling the walls in all their unappetising detail, as well as a few rather questionable works – the kind which have been executed so badly that the old “my child could have done that” exasperated statement seems a little inadequate. But happily, this year’s BP Award also offers up some truly ground breaking and original work, paintings whose execution is so accomplished that you find yourself staring closely to find a single line of these meticulously detailed works out of place; works which have been composed with such imagination, insight and at times humour, that the entire collection of the National Portrait Gallery should be bypassed before first indulging in these paintings.

Hakone (oil on canvas © Carl Randall. Reproduced with the kind permission of Carl Randall)

Amusement Park (oil on canvas © Carl Randall. Reproduced with the kind permission of Carl Randall)

Sushi (oil on canvas © Carl Randall. Reproduced with the kind permission of Carl Randall)

I am talking about the works of Carl Randall, a British born and trained artist, but whose work is so immersed in Japanese culture, that my assumption for at least the first 10 minutes of being mesmerised by his works was that he originated from Japan. For despite his London Slade training, Randall took inspiration when spending time in Japan following his receipt of the prestigious Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation scholarship which he won in 2003. This enabled him to continue his painting career in Tokyo, during which time he was selected to be artist in residence in Hiroshima city (to document survivors of the Atomic Bomb) and he was chosen to represent Japan as artist in residence at the 2007 Formula 1 Races. From there continued what is quite evidently a love affair with modern Japanese culture, which he has since captured in multiple brilliant canvases and sketches which show Japan in all its quirky, colourful and inimitable character.

Shoe Shop (oil on canvas © Carl Randall. Reproduced with the kind permission of Carl Randall)

Fireflies (oil on canvas © Carl Randall. Reproduced with the kind permission of Carl Randall)

Electric Tokyo (oil on canvas © Carl Randall. Reproduced with the kind permission of Carl Randall)

I was first acquainted with Randall’s work at last year’s BP Portrait Award, when his black and white painting of some glum-faced melancholic city residents sitting up at a sushi-bar on a commonplace working day (Mr.Kitazawa’s Noodle Bar) won him the BP 2012 Travel Award. This enabled Randall to return to Japan, and undertake a new artistic adventure, painting a new collection entitled ‘In the footsteps of Hiroshige: Portraits of Modern Japan’, which are exhibited at this year’s show.

Mr Kitazawa’s Noodle Bar (oil on canvas © Carl Randall)

I urge all those living in, and passing through London to head to the BP Portrait Award just to look at these brilliant paintings which are both evocative of modern Japan, but also verge on the slightly surreal and idealistic, a sense captured by Randall’s portrayal of slightly deformed head shapes and frequently distorted proportions, as well as his use of vivid colouration and quixotic backdrops. This for me produces the perfect combination of compositional originality and skillful figurative narration. Some, like Randall’s cerulean-coloured Onsen almost remind me of Hockney but with, dare I say it, a more refined execution and altogether superior finish, while his homage to sumo wrestling (Sumo) contains an almost parodied exploration of light and shadow, the likes of which was so central to the atmosphere created in George Bellows’ boxing works, recently shown at the Royal Academy.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photo-realistic, boring, overly magnified these are not – they are true art to my mind – portraiture that tells a real story beyond two eyes, a nose and a mouth. I truly hope that Carl Randall represents the future of British portraiture, and that more works like his will fill the BP Portrait Award in the future.

Shinjuku (oil on canvas © Carl Randall. Reproduced with the kind permission of Carl Randall)

The BP Portrait Award is showing at London’s National Portrait Gallery and entry is free. It runs until the 15 September 2013 before touring to the Aberdeen Art gallery from 2 November 2013 to 1 February 2014, followed by the Wolverhampton Art Gallery from 3 March to 14 June 2014.

Carl Randall’s website is well worth a visit – also check out the “Japan Portraits” documentary which provides a fascinating insight into the artist in action. You can also find Carl on facebook and twitter. I would finally recommend the superb book Carl Randall: Japan Portraits which is available from the NPG bookshop.

All images are reproduced from http://www.carlrandall.com with the kind permission of Carl Randall

Jul 29

3 Comments

Summertime Sussex (Part 1): Composition No. 6

One of the great things about gouache paint (the likes of which I rediscovered a few months back and am now totally in love with) is how quickly one can turn around a fairly detailed painting in a short space of time. Of course it helps that the paint dries within minutes of its application to the paper, allowing a detailed image to be swiftly executed. The result of this is that I am finding myself increasingly able to catalogue my life’s adventures in gouache paint, as well as through photography and the written word.

Consequently, no sooner had I finished off the last of my Provence-inspired gauche paintings, which in turned formed part of my “compositions series” (the idea behind the series being that the paintings follow a more abstract compositional styling rather than being constrained too heavily by accurate figurative representation), than I got to work on another, this time inspired by a short 24 hour trip I made to my home town of Worthing in Sussex for something of a pre-birthday celebration.

Composition No. 6 (Summertime Sussex: Taking a bathe) (2013 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gauche on paper)

Composition No. 6 (Summertime Sussex: Taking a bathe) (2013 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

Having been languishing in the sultry summer sunshine of late, the UK has firmly entered the holiday season, and its many beaches have each become heavily populated by visitors taking dips in the English sea to cool off from the unseasonably high temperatures. The beach at Goring-by-Sea, the small suburb East of Worthing and where my family home is situated, is no exception. My mother and I headed down to the beach on a warm Saturday afternoon and, having made our way through the various groups of barbequing families, young children playing in the sand, and sun-lovers spreading themselves out in worship of the sun rays, we reached the shore whose waters were surprisingly warm and clear. Neither of us could resist a dip, and this 6th painting in my compositions series marks the moment when my mother was taking a bathe in the sea while I, looking after our things and taking in the surprisingly summery scene before me, sat on the water’s edge, this image building in my head.

The very next morning I began to sketch out the composition, complete with its curving wave-like forms and overlapping seaweed-covered groynes and within a few days it was done. The perfect testament to a perfect British summer’s day. I leave you with some photos of that little beach trip which, like my gouache, capture some essence of the British seaside in the summer.

© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm, 2001-2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Nicholas de Lacy-Brown and The Daily Norm with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Composition No. 1 (squid with patatas a lo pobre) (daily-norm.com)
Composition No. 2 (Los Naranjos) (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | My Journey in Paintings: Beau Les Baux (daily-norm.com)

Jul 25

6 Comments

Provence Odyssey | Aix: Day 10 – Au revoir, not goodbye

As the saying goes, let us not say goodbye, but as the French have it, “Au Revoir!”, two words laced with the promise of a return, rather than the abject finality that accompanies the English alternative. Perhaps it is the romance of the French language which encourages such optimism in an otherwise sad parting, or the mere fact that the charm of France makes saying goodbye a near impossibility. Whatever the reason, as we prepared to bid Aix, and Provence farewell at the end of this incredible Provençal Odyssey, we knew, instinctively, that some day we would return. For despite the decent length of our journey, and the multiple sights seen and senses tickled, these days felt like a mere taster of a gigantic feast of pleasure still left undiscovered in Southern France, and for that reason alone, the assurance of a return tends towards reality.

With that ounce of optimism giving us back some bounce in our otherwise sad last steps in the incredible city of Aix, we were minded, as ever, to make the most of our last hours in the city, strolling, at times aimlessly, at others with purpose, in an attempt to take in the very last essence of this place before our departure.

We started our day, perhaps rather morbidly, but yet appropriately I think, by following the last section of the city’s “Cézanne trail” towards the Cemetery of Saint Pierre where the great artist is buried. The visit felt appropriate, not just because, as the final resting place of so many people, it became somewhat symbolic of the end of our Provençal journey, but also because, having been inspired to visit Provence by the significant artistic connections it carries, it felt only right that we would pay homage to the father of them all in his final place of peace; a note of thanks to the father of modern art.

I’ve always rather liked cemeteries, particularly those in the Mediterranean, baked as they are by the glorious sunshine, yet emitting peace and tranquility amongst the shadows of dark cypress trees and pines. This cemetery was no different, providing an almost mesmeric experience as one walked from one elegant grave to another, aware of a family’s sadness in the multiple lives lost here, yet also feeling strangely at peace, somehow contented by the final rest of so many. The cemetery was much bigger than I had supposed, and looking up hill towards the far reaches of the site made for an incredible vista of crosses and little family mausoleums, collectively appearing like a great wave of stone and symbols.

It took us some time to find the grave of Cézanne, a difficulty not helped by the lack of proper signage and the fact that he lies under a surprisingly innocuous gravestone when compared with many of his neighbours’ lavishly decorated headstones, and also strangely devoid of flowers or tributes from other visitors. This is perhaps testament to the sad lack of respect his city had for him in life, and yet he can lie in peace knowing how incredibly significant his life’s work has been for the art world since. Putting at least the lack of flowers to rights, I lay a simple sheaf of lavender upon his grave, feeling at that moment a great connection with the artistic heritage laid down by this man, an artist so often misunderstood but whose genius will live on forever, both in his own work and the work of countless others who followed in his wake.

Heading back to civilisation for a final encounter with Aix’s bustling centre, we also felt as though we were resurrecting Cézanne along side us as we headed back to the world of the living. For strolling one last time down Aix’s most prominent avenue, the Cours Mirabeau, with its almost unbroken shelter of plane trees, we dropped in to the Café Les Deux Garçons, the very café where Cézanne would sit each evening to enjoy an aperatif, and where we now went about sipping our last coffee in Aix, gazing upon the chic residents of this city strolling past, breathing the warm fragrant air of Provence, and already planning how, and when we would return to this incredible part of France.

And with that our Odyssey ended; a finale effected with such efficiency that it was almost as though our story ended just as it had begun. For with holidays like this, each and everyone of us has the opportunity to truly live a dream, and when, like any dream, you walk amongst the pages of its imagination, it feels so real – like there is no other world beyond. But as with every dream, at some point you must awaken, as reality floods back in with the harsh light of day. And so it was that our Odyssey ran dry at last, and London life took hold once again. But not completely. For with this blog, through my paintings, my photographs, and of course the sachets of lavender now to be found placed strategically around my flat, the essence of our Provençal Odyssey still lives on, and will continue to do so, sewing itself into the rich patchwork quilt of our memories which will continue giving us comfort for years to come.

Thank you all so much for reading and sharing in our journey. But it’s not quite over yet – come back tomorrow for my last Provence photo collection. Until then.

The Cours Mirabeau

All photos and written content are strictly the copyright of Nicholas de Lacy-Brown © 2013 and The Daily Norm. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of the material, whether written work, photography or artwork, included within The Daily Norm without express and written permission from The Daily Norm’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Provence Odyssey | Aix: Le Dîner – La Cantine (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Saint-Rémy: Les Photos (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Saint-Rémy: Day 8 – Picture-Perfect Provence (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Avignon to Arles: Day 3 – From Popes to Emperors (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Aix: Day 9 – In search of Cézanne (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | My Journey in Paintings: Beau Les Baux (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Avignon – A room with a view (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | My Journey in Paintings: From Avignon to Arles (avec le petit dejeuner) (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Saint-Rémy: Day 6 – The Grandeur of Ancient Glanum (daily-norm.com)

Jul 24

3 Comments

Provence Odyssey | My Journey in Paintings: Provence Patchwork

I have gone on endlessly about the Provençal landscape ever since this vast odyssey, not just across Southern France but also as depicted on this blog, first began some weeks ago, and now I will once again let my art do the talking. For somewhat suitably, as the end of the trip drew near, and four cities had been visited, I decided to start the fourth and final of the artworks completed while on our tour, this time inspired by the journey to Aix.

Taking the fast train from Avignon TGV down to Aix TGV in a mere 20 minutes meant for a lightening speed flight through the undulating topography of the Southern most reaches of the region, but it was nevertheless enough to make my eyes almost dewy with pleasure as they looked out onto the stunning scenery passing us by. The Provençal landscape is not complex, nor terribly unique – but it is beautiful nonetheless, because through the sheer beauty of a bucolic landscape marked by agricultural spaces pinned side by side and bordered by cypress trees and olives, the rolling countryside of the region looks like a patchwork quilt of earthy tones interspersed with the occasional splash of purple lavender or yellow corn.

Composition No. 5 (Provence Patchwork) (2013 © Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, gouache on paper)

It is this patchwork effect which inspired my final gouache work on the trip. Entitled Composition No.5 (Provence Patchwork), the work once again forms part of my Compositions series. I have used flat, blocks of colour to represent the varied agriculture of the region, and in composition have tried to represent what is almost a cubist landscape resulting from the complicated crisscross of fields and bordering trees that characterise the region. I hope you like it.

Provence Odyssey | My Journey in Paintings: Beau Les Baux (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | My Journey in Paintings: From Avignon to Arles (avec le petit dejeuner) (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Avignon – A room with a view (daily-norm.com)

Jul 22

4 Comments

Provence Odyssey | Aix: Day 9 – In search of Cézanne

You know that you are approaching Aix when you see the looming multi-dimensional silhouette of the Mont Sainte-Victoire rising up over the horizon. Thanks to the multiple depictions of this magnificent mountain by the city’s most famous son, Post-Impressionist Paul Cézanne, the city of Aix-en-Provence, cosmopolitan gem of Southern France, together with its ever faithful mountainous backdrop, has been placed firmly on the cultural map of Europe. They say that one should leave the best till last, and this we surely did when we made Aix the last stop of our 10 day Provençal Odyssey.

It became immediately clear that Aix is a busy, bustling city, with the sense of something chic and Parisian about it, but at the same time maintaining the sleepy charm of the Provence region. In Aix, the shutters and pastel colours seen across Provence are here in their multitudes, but instead of narrow little streets, here they decorate vast plazas and long tree-lined boulevards. Like the verdant rolling countryside around it, Aix is abundant with plan trees and cypresses, pine trees and olives, yet those trees cast their dappled light not upon fields, but over the exquisitely decorated facades of churches and palaces, of museums and grand cafes, and over the broad pavements which facilitate the art of strolling along shop-lined avenues. And best of all in Aix are the fountains. Said to be the “City of a Thousand Fountains”, the real number is thought to be closer to 100, but Aix is truly abundant in water, in dancing leaping and trickling water, all caught in the great basins of these baroque fountain sculptures, which are at the centre of every square and street.

Aix’s resplendent fountains…

No wonder Aix is so magnificent – it was the capital of Provence one upon a time, and today is an international students’ town, full of culture, cafes and a general air of excitement. And of course one of the greatest pleasures about visiting Aix is to indulge in all that excitement on offer, to perambulate along its fashionable streets, and to sit by its many fountains, sipping upon a coffee or cooling down with an ice cream or two – more about that later. But my first priority on visiting this city was to discover its most famous resident, the somewhat reclusive artist but often called the Father of Modern Art – Paul Cézanne.

Cézanne grew up and spent most of his life in Aix. Of course he did make a trip or two to Paris, and it was there that he first discovered impressionism. However, it was in the heartland of Southern France that Cézanne really felt at home, and it was undoubtedly the rugged scenery of Provence and the immediate surroundings of Aix that helped to characterise Cézanne’s development from the dappled light of Impressionist works, to the rugged geometric depictions of his Post-Impressionist oeuvre. The origins of cubism had been born.

Cézanne’s Mont Sainte-Victoire

Aix, perhaps predictably, relishes its connection with this foremost artistic genius (although sadly it didn’t at the time Cézanne was painting in the city) and today its tourist office provides an excellent and very comprehensive walking tour both through and around the city, picking up on all of the various places of relevance to both Cézanne and his family along the way. Sadly we did not have time to do the whole tour (although I think we may survive not seeing where Cézanne’s mother’s brother’s friend lived), not least because with Aix basking under the reflective glory of nearby Marseille’s status as European Capital of Culture 2013, there were plenty of cultural activities we wanted to pack into our short two-night stay. However, what we did prioritise was two integral aspects of Cézanne’s life and work in Aix: His studio, and the view of Mont Sainte-Victoire itself.

Cézanne’s studio

L’Atelier de Cézanne (the studio of Cézanne) is a good 20 minute walk uphill out of Aix, but it’s a walk taking the earnest visitor gradually out into the verdant pastures of suburban Aix, with views of the city growing gradually more impressive as the road rises. The studio itself provides an absolutely fascinating insight into Cézanne. It’s essentially just a one room museum devoted to Cézanne, but not a museum with story boards and animations – this is simply the artist’s studio, with the various props scattered around which he used in his many still life compositions. Of course Cézanne is as much famous for his still life depictions of apples and oranges as he is for the Mont Sainte-Victoire, but those paintings were more often than not depicting fruit clustered around other objects – old pots and bottles, and a broken mannequin.

It was consequently fascinating to walk into the studio and see before you those same objects which have now become so well-known to the art lover through Cézanne’s works. That broken mannequin for example was immediately recognisable from the Courtauld’s Still Life with Cherub, and there too were the skulls from his Pyramid of Skulls. It was also fascinating to see the methods of his work in this studio which still smells of oil paint and turpentine – his tall ladder to work on larger paintings, and a large vertical hole in the wall through which larger canvases such as his Bathers series (which were painted at this studio) could travel in and out. Meanwhile, outside of the little studio house, the overgrown gardens really give the impression of the kind of solitude and reclusiveness which Cézanne preferred to maintain throughout most of his working life.

Still Life with Cherub (1895)

The Basket of Apples (1890-1894)

The Pyramid of Skulls (1901)

Still Life, draper, pitcher and fruit bowl (1893-4)

The Bathers (1898-1905)

Studio done, and the creative air of Cézanne breathed in deeply, we headed up hill for about another 20 minutes to visit what is now called “Le Terrain des Peintres” – literally Painter’s Ground – said to be the exact spot where Cézanne would go to paint the magnificent view of the Mont Sainte-Victoire. Today, the space takes the form of pleasantly manicured garden, with some reproductions of his paintings set around the walls of the gardens. But other than that, it is a quiet spot, blissfully free from the tourist hoards who frequented his studio, probably because of its distance from the city, and its lack of parking for coaches.

And the view? Just stunning. In that moment, turning around and catching the view of the glorious pastel-shaded mountain rising out of the field-covered horizon, I felt my breath sucked away from me as in this moment of epiphany I felt myself somehow drawn back into an artistic past – a period of artistic revolution, when the dominance of nature was recognised, when shape was reinvented, and when colour rose to the fore. For me, it was a highpoint of this Provençal Odyssey (both physically and metaphorically), the moment when I realised that a whole century of artistic progression and development owes its dept to this place, to this artist, to the path from impressionism to cubism which he opened up through his genius and his insight, starting as he did so perhaps one of the most important revolutions of all time.

The magnificent Mont Sainte-Victoire

More information on visiting Cézanne’s studio can be found here.

Norms do… Cézanne’s Card Players (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Saint-Rémy: Day 8 – Picture-Perfect Provence (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Saint-Rémy: Les Photos (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | My Journey in Paintings: Beau Les Baux (daily-norm.com)

Jul 18

13 Comments

Provence Odyssey | My Journey in Paintings: Beau Les Baux

When I was planning my trip to Provence, I always had in mind the kind of imagined utopia, where Dominik and I would walk, carefree, into lavender fields and poppy fields, he taking a rest amongst the sweet smelling flowers, and me setting out my sketch book and paint box, beckoning the Provençal muse to meet my embrace, inspiring me to transfer the glory of Provence to the blank pages of the sketch book before me. In this sense I suppose I am similar to so many artists who have gone before me; such as Van Gogh, who was so driven by the concept of establishing an artistic community in the region that he painted some of his best works just as decoration for the house which would be at the centre of that movement.

While Van Gogh’s dream was sadly never realised, my own artistic imaginings have, happily, come closer to fruition. After 6 days on the trip, I had already completed two works. As for my vision of utopia, well, Dominik had already found rest in amongst a Poppy field (as the photo below aptly demonstrates!), while in Saint-Rémy, we finally found the opportunity to stroll through lavender fields and olive groves, having got no closer to lavender in both Avignon and Arles than the bags of dried stuff littering up the souvenir shops.

Dominik takes a rest amongst the poppies, Oz style.

But once Les Baux entered the equation, my artistic stirrings really began to take another stir, as with one glance at some of the most stunning mountain scenery in all of France, I became involuntarily, but very willingly sucked into another hypnosis of creative motivation, as the sweet-smelling lavender-haired Provence Muse took my hand in hers, and led me to a third page of my sketchbook to complete yet another ode to this paradise.

As I described yesterday, Les Baux-de-Provence could not help but inspire artists such as Yves Brayer to manifest the exquisite village and surroundings in paint, but then again Saint-Rémy’s impressive surroundings are surely worth their weight in inspirational gold also. So for my third painting, another of my freely-conceived “compositions” series, I couldn’t help but paint the limestone chateau-topped spur of Les Baux, its stunning surroundings of patchwork-quilt fields, and, in the distance, the ruins of St Remy’s great archaeological site, the Roman town of Glanum.

Composition No. 4 (Beau Les Baux) (© Nicholas de Lacy-Brown, 2013, guache on paper)

So there you have it: Composition No. 4 (Beau Les Baux). An undulating patchwork landscape, rocky citadel, blue skies and all topped off with a picnic of baguette, cheese, saucisson and of course a little wine. Ah…La Bonne Vie. I hope you enjoy it.

Provence Odyssey | Les Baux: Day 7 – The Belle of the Alpilles (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Avignon – A room with a view (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | My Journey in Paintings: From Avignon to Arles (avec le petit dejeuner) (daily-norm.com)

Jul 17

4 Comments

Provence Odyssey | Les Baux: Day 7 – The Belle of the Alpilles

Le Beau – Les Baux: the insurmountable beauty that is Les Baux, a tiny medieval village sitting upon a rocky spur of the Alpilles mountains, and today one of the most visited sites in France. And little wonder, for what this village lacks in size, it more than makes up for in the stunning natural beauty of its surroundings, the almost untouched historical charm of its tiny steep streets, and the incredibly variety and brilliance of its attractions. Yes, Les Baux-de-Provence, only some 10 minutes drive south of Saint-Rémy up various meandering gradually steepening mountain roads receives some 2 million visitors a year for a reason, and given our proximity , staying as we were in Saint-Rémy, there was no way we were going to miss out on this gem in the crown of our great Provence Odyssey.

The stunning Alpilles surroundings to Les Baux

So as day 7 of our trip broke, we hopped into a cab, and made the short journey into the Alpilles mountain range, our eyes gradually widening as the utterly stunning dramatic fortress site came into view – the craggy almost unrecognisable remains of an old castle sat upon a high limestone spur looking like something straight out of a fairytale. Once dropped off in the town and having arranged for the taxi to return some 5 hours later, we set off hungry for this dynamic little town, eagerly exploring its few steep and shop-lined streets, our cameras clicking in harmony as we climbed, not knowing which way to turn at every corner in this labyrinth of unending charm, but finding seductive medieval beauty on every street we took. Our little perambulation inevitably led us towards the top of the rocky spur upon which the village precariously sits, and there through a large ancient gateway, we entered the first of this town’s three excellent attractions – the old ruined Chateau.

The Chateau of Les Baux

I’m not sure how to describe these visually spectacular ruins, other than to say that they seemed to me a hybrid of half building and half rock, as though the castle had literally been forged out of the craggy limestone rocks of the Les Baux spur, so that misshapen windows and steep perilous staircases began to morph out of the relentlessly hostile limestone, complex in all its greys and ocres overrun with oxygenised dribbles that resembled treacle poured over honeycomb ice cream. Whatever the castle was, today it was far less – a mere shadow of its former glory, yet still retaining the stronghold position of its mighty elevation above surrounding Provence, from whose ruined battlements the views of the encircling patchwork tapestry of wheat fields and olive trees and cypresses and vines were just stunning – I almost teared up at the site of it, although to be fair, the brisk wind at this high altitude probably didn’t help in that respect.

We toured this vast remains for as long as our legs could carry us over the treacherous terrain, largely ignoring the historical facts given to us by an accompanying audio guide in preference for the unique brilliance of the vistas all around. Thoroughly satisfied with the almost incredible sight of these views, we headed back into the cute village streets, whose many terracotta roofs had been seen at such a pretty vantage from the ruined Chateau, but which now provided us with a delicious luncheon, again accompanied by that same jaw-dropping view.

With time ticking onwards, and that taxi, we now realised, returning sooner than we would have liked, we proceeded swiftly to the second of the village’s abundant attractions – the Musée Yves Brayer. This eponymously named gallery is the home of many great works by this fantastic Les-Baux based artist, whose landscapes of the surrounding countryside and Les Baux itself bare suitable testament to the stunning location will cannot help but inspire (see my next post-tomorrow), but also included paintings of many of the great cities which have inspired artists, and me, in equal measure across Italy and Spain, including, to my great delight, my beloved Marbella. However, beyond Brayer himself, our visit was well timed, coinciding with Marseille’s European Capital of Culture status for 2013, and here an exhibition held as part of that festival, showing the influence of the French Mediterranean in popular 20th century art, and including some greats including Signac, Dufy and Buffet.

Paintings © Yves Brayer

But for the real big art names, and images of their works magnified to a scale quite beyond the imagination, one only has to go to the last of our Les Baux destinations, an attraction so beyond all previous of my life’s experiences that I now struggle in words to describe this immersive, mesmeric, mammoth celebration of art in the most unique of surroundings. I am talking about the Carrières de Lumières – an attraction literally of totally-immersive light and art set within the incredible other-wordly surrounds of Les Baux’s former limestone quarries. These quarries, otherwise known as the Val d’Enfer (valley of hell) and having inspired countless artists and writers in their time including, allegedly, Dante himself, as well as a film by Cocteau, are like vast almost unending cathedrals of stone cut deep into the mountain side.

Within these quarries, the Les Baux authorities have realised the most stunning of all attractions, by projecting huge images of some of France’s greatest artworks onto the walls and the floors of this vast space accompanied by stirring classical music. When you walk in, through a dark curtain, and suddenly find yourself literally surrounded by light, by art, and by music, every sense is awoken by this extraordinary audio-visual experience. Monet, Chagall, Matisse, Renoir – all were there, but seen in a totally new light, their vast scale bringing art to life, and the music echoing around the limestone masses creating immersive theatre which couldn’t help but pull you into its emotional swathe.

It was an incredible experience, and one which, along with the beautiful village of Les Baux, will stay with me for many years to come. What a stunning artistic centre; a tiny medieval village, seeped in the past, but now exploring new routes of artistic discovery in ways that only the French do well. Bravo!

Provence Odyssey | Saint-Rémy: Day 6 – The Grandeur of Ancient Glanum (daily-norm.com)
Les Baux de Provence & Carrières de Lumières (rvbroom.wordpress.com)
Provence Odyssey | Saint-Rémy: Day 6 – In search of Van Gogh (Part 2) (daily-norm.com)

Jul 15

6 Comments

Provence Odyssey | Saint-Rémy: Day 6 – In search of Van Gogh (Part 2)

As Van Gogh neared the final climax of his prematurely shortened life, his movements around France, and the paintings which resulted, became more and more dominated by his health needs. In May 1889, after his famous ear self-mutilation incident in Arles and the hospital stay which followed, Van Gogh moved to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, some 20 miles North-East of Arles in the foothills of the Alpilles mountains, in order to voluntarily commit himself into the care of an asylum. That asylum was the hospital of Saint Paul-de-Mausole, set within the tranquil grounds of a former monastery to the south of Saint Remy, and was where Van Gogh set up home, with one room and an adjoining studio, for the next year of his life. Come May 1890, Van Gogh was off again in pursuit of medical assistance, moving to his final destination of Auvers-sur-Oise, this time to be nearer to Dr Paul Gachet. He would be dead some 3 months later.

Despite the nature of what some could see as a mental crisis dictating Van Gogh’s relocation to Saint-Remy, there are two undeniable factors about his stay in the town and the output that resulted. The first is that the asylum and the town to which he relocated are both exceptionally beautiful examples of Provence at its finest. The second is that, understandably, the paintings which resulted from this time are some of Van Gogh’s very best.

Painted in Saint-Rémy…

Wheatfield with Cypresses

Irises

Mountainous landscape behind the hospital Saint Paul

The Olive Trees

Cypresses

It was consequently to Saint Remy that we proceeded on this third leg of our Provence Odyssey, as much guided by the promise of a pretty mid-countryside town as by the legacy of Van Gogh which seeps into its very foundations. While a stroll around the pretty boutique-filled village proved that the town is abundant with its own Provençal charms, albeit on a far smaller scale than Avignon or Arles before it, it was in pursuance of Van Gogh’s story that we begun our explorations of Saint-Rémy, and the out of town stroll which this trail required.

Unlike Arles, whose exploration of the Van Gogh story left me somewhat wanting (there were postcards sure, and a café mock up on the Place du Forum, but where were the museums, the recreations of paintings, the story?), Saint-Rémy’s small but ample tourist office provides an excellent self-guided Van Gogh walking tour, which takes you out of the village and into the stunning surrounding countryside, in order to visit the Saint Paul-de-Mausole asylum where Van Gogh lived, and see recreations of his many Saint-Rémy based paintings along the route.

Right where he painted it – the Van Gogh walk brings his paintings to life

Van Gogh’s hospital bed and easel

Taking this route, we were delighted with the pastures new before us, strolling as we were along small residential and field-lined roads which we may never otherwise have discovered. While much of the landscape is a little more developed now than it might have been in VG’s day, as we neared the asylum, wide expanses of olive tree-lined fields started to open up before us, and with the wild craggy outline of the Alpilles mountains in the backdrop, and swirly dark cypress trees popping up all over the landscape, it really started to feel as though some of Van Gogh’s most famous landscape paintings were coming to life before our very eyes. For as the little VG walk soon made clear, the artist produced some of his best works in this little town, painting at his swirliest (for example his famous Starry Night and his depiction of cypress trees and swirly leafed olive trees) and his most imaginative.

Painted in the Saint Paul hospital…

Trees in the Garden of the Hospital Saint Paul

The gardens of Saint Paul hospital

Stone Bench in the garden of Saint Paul

Entrance Hall of Saint Paul

And no wonder. As we turned into the high-stone walled gardens of Saint Paul-de-Mausole, filled with multi-coloured flowers moving slowly in the light breeze, I could not help but feel inspired myself. This reaction only grew, as we wandered through the former monastery, gazing in wonder and the beautiful sun drenched cloister, and then, behind the building, the stunningly manicured Provencal gardens, loaded with rows of lavender, sunflowers and poppy fields, creating the kind of floral backdrop which would have had Van Gogh painting feverishly all day long.

The landscapes and the hospital that inspired Van Gogh…

With only a camera to hand, Dominik and I met our own inspiration through the medium of photography, taking hundreds of photos of the flowers, the lavender, the old monastery and the surrounding landscapes, strolling around the gardens, mesmerized by the scent of flowers, and the low murmuring of hundreds of bees buzzing around the lavender bushes. This was true Provence – the true stunning countryside that the guidebooks had all promised.

Eventually we broke away, not only from the asylum, but also from our Van Gogh trail, for what we found just down the road from Saint Paul was an entirely unexpected, quite stunning historical treat – a find of such exciting archeological proportions that I’m going to devote an entire post to it! For that – see you tomorrow. And in the meantime, I leave you with the lavender, the poppies, the olive trees and the sunflowers that so inspired Van Gogh, and now me in equal measure.

Provence at its finest…

A demain.

Provence Odyssey | Arles: Day 5 – In search of Van Gogh (Part 1) (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Arles: Les Photos (daily-norm.com)
Provence Odyssey | Avignon to Arles: Day 3 – From Popes to Emperors (daily-norm.com)

Jul 14

5 Comments

Provence Odyssey | Arles: Les Photos

While Arles proved to be something of a disappointment: The dreaded Mistral wind hampered the majority of our experience in the city, such that we were usually dodging the wide expanse of squares of the riverside in order to shelter in the narrower more maze-like streets, it was, predictably perhaps, a city ripe in photographic treasures. The city has, after all, inspired artists aplenty, from Van Gogh, to Picasso, who was drawn to the city because of its amphitheatre bull fights, reminding him of the culture of his beloved Spain from where he was in forced exile during and after the Spanish Civil War.

Now in turn, the city could not help but inspire me, as ever, to get snapping away with my camera. The photos which result are a panoply of shutters and shop signs, medieval stone masonry to ancient Roman ruins. They exhibit the kind of vivid colouration that so inspired Van Gogh, glinting with the fresh clear light which is a characteristic partner to the Mistral, and the force behind the rich artistic heritage which is as much a bedrock of the city’s history as the Roman architecture scattered all around.

In these photos, you can see other features of the city which I have perhaps left unmentioned until now. The grand Lion-littered fountain at the centre of the Place de la République; the excellent “Clouds” exhibition at the Musée Réattu together with a fantastically whispy cloud I saw in the cerulean blue sky one morning; a sunny side up glinting oily egg at breakfast, and the artistic graffiti which characterises some of the quieter streets on the outskirts.

This is Arles, in photos. Next up: Saint Remy.