CARRIÉRES DE LUMIÉRES: A COOL PLACE TO VISIT

Posted on June 17, 2012November 27, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Entrance to Carrières de Lumières © CulturespacesThe Carrières du Val d'Enfer--the quarries in the Valley of Hell--have provided limestone for over 2000 years. The Romans exploited the quarries for material to rebuild the nearby Celto-Liguirian town of Glanum back in 200 BC and later to create the Roman city of Arles. In the 11th century, the notorious Lords of les Baux built their formidable chateau out of limestone from these neighboring quarries. (Now referred to as the Chateau...

WITH LAVENDER, ROSEMARY, AN OLD 2CV, AND A BIG HEART, L’OCCITANE EN PROVENCE WAS BORN

Posted on March 25, 2012December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Lavender is a magnet for tourists to Provence. Our post, "Lavender: A Flower Rooted in Sun-Drenched Provence," remains our most read article and questions about lavender season dominate our inquiries. That a factory tour in sunny Provence is a popular tourist destination may not be such a surprise, then, when the company is L'Occitane, manufacturer of lavender-infused lotions, soaps, bath and shower gels, essential oils and much, much more. L'Occitane--pronounced “lox-ee-tan”---stores have po...

“VAN GOGH UP CLOSE” AT THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART: AN EXAMINATION OF LANDSCAPES FROM PROVENCE AND AUVERS AND A FEW STILL LIFES FROM PARIS, TOO

Posted on February 19, 2012December 30, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Befittingly, perhaps, we arrived in Philadelphia to find frigid temperatures and falling snow, just as van Gogh had found in Arles when he arrived from Paris 124 years ago on February 20th. It took van Gogh only three days before he and his easel were en plein air, painting one of two pieces aptly entitled Landscape with Snow (1888).For us, once inside the stunning exhibition of over 40 of van Gogh’s paintings, most of which were painted in the South of France, our fingers quickly thawed a...

JACQUELINE BRICARD WELCOMES NAÏF ARTISTS TO LOURMARIN

Posted on October 16, 2011December 29, 2015 by Susan Manfull

Naïf art is that which takes inspiration from the soul. The artists who produce this style of work are generally self-taught or at least not academically trained. Their work is therefore free from any prescribed convention. Their work is usually characterized by very bright and bold colors, distortions in perspective and size, and a seemingly childlike or simplistic style (although a closer examination reveals that the work is neither although it certainly appeals to the child in each of us!). ...