Indulging the senses/two unparalleled careers
Dante, the Renaissance poet of "Divine Comedy" fame, declared the history of painting began with Giotto (1267-1337) not Cimabue, history’s accepted first painter. Giotto was the revolutionary who changed the ancient Greek manner of painting into the one we know.
From that point onward mankind has marveled at revolutionaries in art "as a font from which artists for the next [centuries] would draw different kinds of nourishment" (Kirk Varnedoux, MOMA former director). One of the great revolutionary geniuses was Paul Cezanne (1839-1906), a recluse who devoted his lifetime to a struggle to break with conventional ways of seeing. He ended by destroying Impressionism with his lucidity and passionate contemplation. Cezanne saw something deeper and quite different as he lived out his life in Aix-en-Provence, France, his family home.
Paul Cezanne
Picasso (1881-1973), perhaps the favorite revolutionary, who, although a Spaniard, adopted Paris and the late Impressionists in 1901 and remained for a lifetime, said, "When I paint I feel that all the artists of the past are behind me." As a young man he began to question the relationship of form and space in painting, and then saw the work of Cezanne which ignited his own painting to become released from the representational tradition. And art was radically changed forever.
Pablo Picasso
A world event in the arts takes place this Sept. 13, bringing these two colossi together for the first time in a museum exhibit "Picasso-Cezanne 2009" at the Musee Granet in Aix-en-Provence. This premier historic event can be experienced with the expertise of Sarasota resident Valerie Sutter, former French teacher, travel guide and owner for 12 years of "The French Traveler" (for French teachers).
She earned a Master of Arts degree from the Faculte de Lettres in Lyon and taught for 30 years on three continents. She lives in France in spring and fall and her French is exquisite. Her passion for art keeps her connected to the French world and all manner of adventures and experiences for those who travel with her.
The magical sights of this tour include (for the duration of the museum show only) the first-ever opening to the public of Picasso’s home, the chateaux Vauvenargues (where he is buried), his atelier, the atelier of Cezanne, the home of Renoir, and Van Gogh’s asylum. And, of course, beautiful Provence itself.
Another bright spot is that Pascale Rihouet, a born and bred Parisian with a PhD in art history from Brown University, will be the lecturer traveling with the tour. This is indeed a trip for the Francophile, for art lovers, admirers of the beauty of Provence, history buffs (the Romans were there first) and for those who do not want to pack-and-run each day – but enjoy seven nights in one deluxe hotel (The Aquabella) in the heart of Aix, Sept. 13-20. Indulge your senses, at a once-in- a-lifetime event.
The historic qualities of the Cezanne-Picasso exhibition are unprecedented as is the opening of Picasso’s Chateaux Vauvenaigues.
Tickets to the museum exhibit have been sold out, making July 15 the final sign-up day for "The Painter’s Brush" tour with Valerie Sutter...Bon Voyage.
The French Traveler, (8OO) 251-3464; trips@frenchtraveler.com; www.frenchtraveler.com; utube.com picasso-cezanne art tour video