Heroes Not Zombies

The Chateau de Vauvenargues has never been open to the public before, but for four months this summer it’s possible to visit. I went yesterday and it was wonderful. It really is in a beautiful location as I’m sure the photos above will show. It sits at the foot of Mont Saint Victoire, which Picasso never painted. He had a deeply respectful attitude towards “Monsieur Cezanne”, as he always refered to him, and that seems to have led him to steer clear of painting the mountain which not only provides the backdrop to the castle, but part of it was even included in the title deeds of the castle itself. I think that was one of the big surprises. After all, Picasso had no qualms about revisiting the works of Manet and others!

The main surprise though, was what the guide refered to as Picasso’s “spartan” choice for the interior. He left pretty much the whole interior as he found it – didn’t redecorate it (apart from painting the plaster in the bathroom with a woodland scene!) and only “upgraded” the place by installing a new bathroom and central heating. There is very little furniture in the house which certainly does give a feeling of simplicity, and the walls and ceilings are faded and peeling. I was also surprised to learn that he didn’t paint the views he could see from the windows, but that he said that when he painted here his painting became more green! You can see this is true. There’s a lot more green paint used in the works he produced here. However, the ancient links between Barcelona and Aix allowed him to explore his favourite reds and yellows and even led him to have a huge Catalan flag as the headboard for his simple double bed.

Picasso and Jacqueline are buried in front of the castle with a simple Picasso sculpture over the grave – no headstone, no words.

Sometimes it’s the simplest of experiences which are the most intense.