Experiencing the light-filled landscapes of Provence that inspired Cézanne's works

Jas de Bouffan, where Paul Cézanne lived for 40 years, is currently being restored for its first ever public opening which will coincide with a landmark exhibition of his work, Cézanne at Jas de Bouffan, from June 28 to October 12

Cardeurs square with cafes and restaurants in the old town of Aix-en-Provence.

It is quite astonishing to realise that a painting few people wanted to buy a little over a century ago is now worth a quarter of a billion dollars. Paul Cézanne’s The Card Players became the most expensive piece of art in the world in 2011 when it was bought by the Qatar royal family for $250m.

It has since been overtaken by two other masterpieces, Willem de Kooning’s Interchange for $300m in 2015 and Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi for $450m in 2017.

But that hardly diminishes the magnitude of what The Card Players achieved — a painting from 1890-’92 of two of Cézanne’s humble estate workers playing at a table in a dark room.

Cézanne, along with other contemporary impressionist and post-impressionist artists like Vincent Van Gogh, was not appreciated in his time.

But unlike the Dutch genius, Cézanne did not die in poverty. His father, Louis-Auguste, was a successful banker who gave his son an allowance enabling him to follow his dream of becoming a painter. And he and his two sisters, Marie and Rose, inherited the family estate, Jas de Bouffan.

But despite producing countless paintings of the surrounding countryside, he was never accepted in his hometown of Aix-en-Provence which refused to exhibit his work.

Now a further ignominy has been discovered. Jas de Bouffan, where he lived for 40 years, is currently being restored for its first ever public opening which will coincide with a landmark exhibition of his work, Cézanne at Jas de Bouffan, from June 28 to October 12.

Cézanne Paul (1839-1906). États-Unis, Chicago (IL), The Art Institute of Chicago. 1942.457.

During the renovation, workers discovered an unknown painting on an inside wall of the house — under a layer of white paint. Someone who owned the beautiful period home after Cézanne’s time was so unimpressed by the fresco they simply painted over it. Initial signs suggest it is a scene of boats on a river and it is now being restored.

The grand salon of the house was once covered in Cézanne’s frescos. But when the artist started to become recognised years after his death the paintings on plaster were cut from the walls, put in frames and sold around the world.

We are on a tour of the estate and work is still busily going on for the grand opening. Piles of calade, large pebbles native to Provence, are ready for cobblestone-style groundwork, ditches are dug for power cables, and a large reservoir, which looks like a swimming pool, is to be cleaned.

A beautiful alley of trees is much like it appeared in Cézanne’s The Allée of Chestmut Trees at the Jas de Bouffan. The estate, once in the countryside, is now surrounded by urban development. Mont Sainte-Victoire, Cézanne’s beloved mountain which he painted no fewer than 77 times, and which was once clearly visible from the property, is now hidden from view.

We are lucky to be the first recent visitors to the estate — it used to be by appointment only — which was taken over by the local authority in 1994. From this summer, admirers of the artist will be able to walk in his footsteps and stand where he painted many of his works in an upstairs studio his father built for him, lit by a large skylight.

It was here, surrounded by 15 hectares of vineyards and orchards, that he produced his still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, many of which will feature in the exhibition in the local Musée Granet. The Card Players was one of a series of five painted here in the 1890s.

During the renovation of Jas de Bouffan, workers discovered an unknown painting on an inside wall of the house — under a layer of white paint. Someone who owned the beautiful period home after Cézanne’s time was so unimpressed by the fresco they simply painted over it. Initial signs suggest it is a scene of boats on a river and it is now being restored.

The ground floor and an upstairs room are being prepared for the opening but others will not be finished until next year.

Visitors will also be able to visit the studio he built, the ‘Atelier des Lauves’, after being forced to sell Jas de Bouffan in 1899 to give his sisters their share of their father’s inheritance.

The artist produced his final paintings here from 1902 to his death in 1906, working daily in a room flooded with light. The studio on Lauves Hill overlooking Aix is being restored and will contain many of his possessions, a permanent legacy of Cézanne 2025.

Cézanne adored the light of Provence and once said: “When you’re born there, it’s hopeless, nothing else is good enough.” 

We experience that light ourselves when we tour the abandoned Bibémus quarries where the painter did countless landscapes with the giant sandstone rocks and Mont Sainte-Victoire in the background. A new public trail will be opened leading to the quarries to the east of the city.

Replicas of his work are embedded in places he loved, particularly on the Terrain des Peintres, a terrace near his studio where there are nine copies on enamalled plates. You can follow his development through the decades, from his early impressionist paintings to the cubism and abstraction of his latter days, a development that inspired Picasso to call him “the father of us all”.

Visitors will also be able to visit the studio he built, the ‘Atelier des Lauves’, after being forced to sell Jas de Bouffan in 1899 to give his sisters their share of their father’s inheritance.

Art and Provence are eternally linked and visitors seeking more cultural enlightenment should make their way to the amazing Chateau La Coste, owned by Irish hotelier and developer Paddy McKillen. 

It’s a working biodynamic vineyard featuring huge art installations by the likes of Damien Hirst and Irish artist Sean Scully, and by famed architects like Tadao Ando from Japan and Brazil’s Oscar Niemeyer.

Bono’s pal, Guggi, features with a giant bronze chalice along with works by Tracey Emin, Yoko Ono, REM’s Michael Stipe and many more.

We walk through long rows of grapes to reach Bob Dylan’s Rail Car, a real American box car set on rail tracks. Once used to transport paper rolls by an Oregon lumber company, its cover has been replaced by a maze of sculptured iron. Dylan said the sight and sound of freight trains was part of his childhood.

A short time later we bump into Paddy McKillen’s sister Maire, who tells us it was she who originally found the vineyard for her brother in 2002.

The Belfast-born chef had settled in Aix because of the quality and range of its foods and herbs and Paddy fell in love with the area while visiting. He asked her to find him a farm.

Writer Jim Gallagher with a statue of Paul Cezanna.

“I knew he was serious because he’s a real visionary,” says Maire, who retains her soft Belfast accent after decades in France.

“Once I found it, he said, ‘this place is too beautiful to keep for ourselves’.

“He loves art and the artistic process and he began to invite people down, people he knew or people whose work he liked like architect Richard Rogers.

“They came because of their love of Provence — and Provence is why we are still here.”

Rogers went on to design a spectacular 120m long gallery on a hillside overlooking the chateau and surrounding landscape.

Beginning with just a cafe, the estate now has a five-star hotel, a four-star hotel, six restaurants, and the vineyard produces up to 900,000 bottles of wine a year, mostly rosé.

The final stop on our Cézanne-inspired art tour is the Gallifet Art Centre in Aix, which specialises in the work of young up-and-coming artists.

Nicolas Mazet opened the gallery in his 19th- century home in 2010 and says they show the work of young artists inspired by Cézanne’s never-give-up attitude.

Cézanne 2025 is a fitting tribute to a painter whose work was forward-looking yet rooted in tradition. The reopening of his house and studio simply give us two more excuses to visit the fabled region and explore the enduring beauty of luminous Aix-en-Provence.

• Jim was a guest of Aix-en-Provence tourism.

Provencal landscape, France, showing Mont Ste Victoire, from the same spot in Aix-en-Provence where Cezanne painted the same landscape as it was in the 19th century.

ESCAPE NOTES 

• For more information on the Cézanne celebrations see cezanne2025.com
• For more information on visiting Aix and Provence see aixenprovencetourism.com and myprovence.fr

Where to stay

If you’re staying in Aix, a comfortable base is the four-star Hotel Aquabella which has a large outdoor pool, a smaller inside pool and spa with sauna and steam rooms. Its L’Orangerie restaurant serves up a lovely prawn linguine which ticks all my boxes.

• hotelaquabella.com

Where to eat

In the city centre, a good place to eat and watch the world go by is the lively terrace of Le Mirabeau, which has very friendly staff. For dinner, the rooftop terrace of La Fromagerie du Passage specialises in cheese dishes. 

• lafromageriedupassage.com

If you want to spoil yourself, try lunch in the beautiful L’Atelier des Lodges, which has a terrace with a spectacular view of Mont Sainte-Victoire.

• Leslodgessaintevictoire.com

Or try the luxurious Villa Gallici, a five-star Relais & Chateaux hotel based in an 18th-century mansion which won a recent Cézanne menu competition to reinterpret Provencal cuisine. La Taula, its gourmet restaurant, is a haven of style and tranquility overlooking one of the hotel’s pools.

• villagallici.fr

Artistic inspiration

The sculpture park and organic winery at Chateau La Coste is open seven days a week from 10am – 7pm. The walking trail through the 600-acre park is €15. Six restaurants have various opening times. 

• chateau-la-coste.com

Gallifet Art centre is currently open from noon to 6pm, Wednesday to Saturday, price €6. From June 1, it is open every day except Monday during the summer months. There is also a restaurant, shop and apartment to rent. 

• hoteldegallifet.com