A genius arrives at the château
From Aix-en-Provence
A flag under the bed, a forest of leaves in the bathroom and dust everywhere: Picasso settles in as an eccentric owner of a château in Vauvenargues in the south of France. The rooms are now open for the first time for a show about his rapport with Cézanne.
Well, this is the way he lived – Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), château owner in Vauvenargues, situated 13 kilometres from the city gates of Aix-en-Provence. In rural tranquillity at the edge of the village, in 1958 he rediscovered his concentration after the visitors and tourists had repeatedly disturbed him and interrupted his creative peace at his villa in Antibes. Picasso came across the 14th century château on a trip to the hinterland along the Côte d'Azur. He fell in love with the castle, protected by four towers, acquiring the estate in a matter of days – and 1,000 hectares of land on the northern flank of the mountain of Sainte Victoire. The dark green slopes, glimmering light and Provençal atmosphere reminded the exile of his childhood in Catalonia. As a symbolic gesture of political opposition, Picasso hoisted the yellow-red flag of his native homeland – outlawed under General Franco – at the head of his bed.
Kindness towards Jacqueline
Picasso settled in with Jacqueline, without doing much to alter the monastic bareness of the walls. The only concession to modern comfort was central heating, and the kitchen was also repositioned from the mighty medieval vault in the basement. The windows, doors, crumbling stucco and damp plaster-rendering remained untouched - a neutral backdrop for his painting. Even the dust stayed. According to the Master, dust was the best means of conservation. Soon, removal vans delivered the Spartan furnishings of an artist's household, including his collections of modern Masters – Braque, Matisse, Cézanne. In the bathroom, Picasso painted - directly onto the concrete plasterwork – a leafy green forest scene with faun: an act of kindness for Jacqueline "so she does not feel so alone in the bathtub". Picasso was to live in Vauvenargues at the châtaeu for three years and later he was also buried here. A short film, made at the time by Jacqueline, shows him as a humorous father with his children, playing with the dog or in a classic pose of a castle owner puffing at a cigar. And the photographer, David Douglas Duncan, who visited him in those days saw a vibrant 76-year-old, obsessed by an immense creative desire: Picasso paints village scenes, interiors, creating portraits of Jacqueline with emphatic lines and strong enamel hues, and produces ceramics and sculptures.
Now, for the first time, these insights into the painter's very private life are possible: Catherine Hutin, the daughter of Picasso's partner, Jacqueline Rocque, and heiress of the estate, has opened the vacant private apartments and studios to the public for the duration of the exhibition "Picasso Cézanne" - an encounter that, at least, emotionally, surpasses the series of pictures on show at the Granet Museum. Three years after the Cézanne exhibition attracted more than 440,000 visitors to Aix, the city's celebrated son - now presented as a double bill with Picasso - ensures another hit with the tourists.
I01I Long before Picasso arrived in Aix-en-Provence, Paul Cézanne lived here. A view of his studio. I02I Picasso lived in the château at Vauvenargues for three years. I03I Picasso used the stucco-decorated castle's main hall as a studio. I04I Picasso's painting of Vauvenargues village in 1959. I05I Picasso looks at a picture by Cézanne in 1960.
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