Provence is a region bursting with colour and glowing with beautiful light, and was a source of inspiration for countless painters and writers. Specialised in the prestigious Provencal real estate market for more than 40 years, Michaël Zingraf Christie’s International Real Estate professionals will take you on a journey in the footsteps of Provence’s biggest artists.
Provence, the land of the artists
All those who have ever been to Provence were no doubt amazed by the beauty of its landscapes, its brilliant colours stretching as far as the eye can see, and its charming vegetation. Thanks to its incredible natural assets, the region has always appealed to those who love beauty.
Artists are no exception! Some were born there and others moved there, yet all were marked by Provence to the point of paying tribute to it in their works. Here is an overview of the most renowned artists who lived in Provence.
Painters in Provence
Painters have always had a special relationship with Provence. The greatest masters drew their inspiration from the region’s unique palette of colours.
Paul Cézanne
Born in Aix-en-Provence in 1839, Paul Cézanne is one of the region’s most iconic figures. Formerly part of the impressionist movement, he was a self-taught painter, and used to travel back and forth between Paris and Provence before settling down in Estaque, then in Gardanne. He later bought a small cabin in the Bimérus quarries, where he painted most of his works - including 80 canvasses of the Saint-Victoire mountain. Though Cézanne was only recognised later on in life, he is now considered as the founding father of Modern Art. Provence was always a deep source of inspiration for him.
Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands, and lived there for several years before settling down in Paris. In 1888, the painter set up shop in Arles, where he rented his famous “yellow house”. Upon discovering the wonderful light in Provence, the artist turned a new page on his work and started his line of Arles-based paintings. Another famous painter, Paul Gauguin, actually joined him in Arles for a while. Upon leaving Arles to be committed in Saint-Rémy de Provence, Van Gogh drew his inspiration from Provencal nature and painted some of his most beautiful canvasses there, including Iris and Sunflowers.
Writers
Emile Zola
Emile Zola spent his childhood and teenage years in Aix-en-Provence, where he actually met Paul Cézanne. Considered as the forerunner of naturalism, he is now one of the most widely-translated French writers in the world. Though his most well-known literary works is the Rougon-Macquart series, he became extremely popular upon publishing his article “I accuse” in the newspaper L’Aurore, about the Dreyfus affair.
Albert Camus
Albert Camus spent many years in the heart of Provence, in the small village of Lourmarin, right at the foot of the Luberon hills. In 1958, he bought a little house there, with the money earned from his Nobel Prize in Literature, and was later buried there. The village was also where Henri Bosco lived, and is located quite near to L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, where the poet René Char once lived.
The Michaël Zingraf Christie’s International Real Estate Group has agencies in Aix-en-Provence as well as in the villages of Lourmarin, Gordes and Saint-Rémy de Provence. We offer prestigious properties there, right in the heart of the region’s beautiful landscapes.