Year of Picasso

In the south of France there is always something going on with the impressionist painters and their influence, so it seems! In Aix en Provence, they continue to emphasize Cezanne, the name is now synonymous with Aix en Provence. Exhibitions of Cezanne this year are combined with Picasso works since it is a celebratory year for Picasso. The Musee Granet has an exhibit running to September 27: www.museegranet-aixenprovence.fr Nearby at the Chateau de Vauvenargues, where Pablo Picasso and his wife lived briefly, and where they were both laid to rest after their deaths. The chateau is privately owned, but the owners are making it available to the public for some limited visits. For more info, see the Aix office of tourism.

Nearby at Les Baux de Provence and the Cathedral d'Images, a Picasso exhibit will last all year. This stop is easily made on many of our Provence cycling and multisport tours. More information see: http://www.cathedrale-images.com/index.htm

Also, in Antibes, one of Picasso's favorite places and site of the Picasso museum, there is more:


Picasso, 1945-1949 : l’ère du renouveau (Age of Renewal)

Exhibition 28th March to 14th June 2009 at the Picasso Museum, Antibes

Since summer 2008, the Picasso Museum has reopened its doors. After two years of renovation work mainly focussed on safety, accessibility and climate control, the public has discovered a new museum offering more comfort for visitors and better preservation conditions for the works of art exhibited. This reopening means the return of the museum collection to its visitors and the planning of temporary exhibitions for the years to come.

The first of these, “l’Ere du renouveau” (the Age of Renewal) from 28th March to 14th June 2009, will be the occasion to see in a new light what is often described as Picasso’s Antibes period. From the vanitas of winter 1945 darkly influenced by the war years, to the creations filled with light at the end of the 1940s, the exhibition will be composed of approximately 200 works of art (paintings, sketches, ceramics) from important public and private collections, including certain works created during his stay at the Grimaldi castle but kept by the artist, which will now come back to the studio where they were conceived. Thus the artist’s production will be put into context over a wider period of history, situating the “Picassos of Antibes” in a creative and particularly rich chronology during those happy years, of which the painting La Joie de Vivre constitutes a sort of emblem.

NB The museum will be closed for exhibition preparation 10th – 27th March and for several days from 15th June (contact the Museum for exact closure dates, and dates of guided visits).

Practical information : Open all year, closed on Mondays and French bank holidays (1st Jan, 1st May, 1st Nov & 25th Dec). 16th Sept to 14th June : 10am – 12am and 2pm to 6pm