TOWARDS THE INNER LIGHT

Provence Trip, Inspiration for All Beauty Lovers

“Sometimes you leave to forget, other times to remember,” you wrote in your diary before deciding to leave for Provence. “It’s really true. Travel can be a way to seek new experiences and leave behind what weighs me down, or to find something good in the memory of people who were dear to me,” you declare to yourself, with your head in the clouds. Until you’re already on your way, you’re aware that the reason for leaving isn’t even clear to you. Glued to the window, you observe a changing mosaic of colors and shapes. Provence unfolds beneath you, and you admire stretches of lavender winding through the green hills like purple rivers. Each field is a bold brushstroke, a living work of art that shades from lilac to deep violet. The ancient villages, witnesses of a time suspended, with their stone houses, seem like jewels set in the landscape. On the horizon, you focus your gaze on the Alps, admiring the snow-capped peaks sparkling in the sunlight. The plane descends and flies over gentle hills. “What a wonder! A single golden light envelops everything, enhances the colors and creates a play of shadows and reflections.” As the plane descends towards Nice airport, the Mediterranean reveals itself in all its beauty, now a sea of crystals lapping at the coast. The experience of admiring Provence from above was unforgettable, a prelude to the discovery of places full of charm. Yet, as soon as you step off the plane, nothing has prepared you for the explosion of flavors and scents.

“The Provençal landscape, with its unmistakable light and vibrant hues, has always exerted a profound and lasting influence on art,” clarifies the taxi driver who will take you to 103 Rte de Saint-Pancrace. “Believe me… you will see with your own eyes that the color palette of this region ranges from the purple lavender fields to the silvery olive groves, from the snow-capped mountains to the deep blue of the Mediterranean.” Arriving at your destination, you look around and discover that ‘Ben Vautier – Chez Malabar et Cunégonde‘ uses the same color tones you observed from the plane to recreate the essence of Provence. The structure is closed, yet you are left speechless observing its exterior walls. “That conceptual artist had used the exterior of his house as a means of artistic expression: signs and sculptures, graffiti and unusual objects,” you note in your travel journal. Ben Vautier, the artist who experimented with Dada attitudes and was influenced by the artist Marcel Duchamp, had questioned the concept of art and property. “By writing his name on common objects, he had transformed everyday life into artistic expression,” you finish noting. Before heading towards 75 Rte d’Aspremont, you take a selfie in front of a house that had been transformed into a dream. You are expected at ‘One‘, a house caressed by the sound of cicadas, the scent of lavender and rosemary, where you can treat yourself to a slower pace. “Located on the edge of the Parc Mercantour national park, with spectacular views of the Baie des Anges. My rental villa offers easy access to the center of Nice: 20 minutes from the beaches, 25 from the airport and 2 minutes to the bus stop. 1 hour and 40 minutes to reach the nearest ski resort,” you add in your diary.

During your stay in Nice, you find that it is a place where renowned artists and emerging talents are drawn by the light, landscapes, and rich cultural heritage. Art galleries, independent exhibition spaces, and festivals enliven the city, offering you the opportunity to meet some emerging artists. You note the essentials in your diary. “Jean-Michel Othoniel, famous for his glass and metal sculptures that play with light and form, has chosen this stage for his installations.” You find that the legacy of Armand Pierre Fernandez, known as Arman, born here in 1928, continues to live in museums with objects that invite reflection on consumer society. You learn that Sophie Calle, a conceptual artist and photographer, explores the boundaries between public and private, truth and fiction, through works that involve the public. The Provençal art scene, a mosaic of styles, techniques, and visions that feeds on the landscape and culture, is a terrain where art intertwines with history and nature. Even Pablo Picasso chose Antibes and Vallauris to experiment with new techniques and styles. You discover that Provence is having a positive impact on you. “Exploring new cultures and ways of life helps me become more tolerant and respectful of differences. I see the world from different perspectives, I challenge my prejudices,” you note on a new page of your travel journal. Traveling alone strengthens your self-confidence.

You are about to arrive in Le Muy, where Bernar Venet’s studio awaits you, the sculptor and painter whose steel sculptures blend with the surrounding landscape. Facing new situations helps you understand emotions. Between Nice and Le Muy, you reflect on the way of creating in these places. “The art of Provence is not a passive reflection of its landscape, rather, an interaction with it. Artists interpret beauty to express their visions. Their color palettes range from the purple lavender fields to the silvery olive groves, from the snow-capped mountains to the deep blue of the Mediterranean Sea,” you summarized in your memory diary. “They create works that reflect the identity of this sun-kissed land,” you finish writing, proud of your changed environmental awareness. Among the scents of lavender and rosemary, you reflect on the relationship between man and nature, on the beauty and fragility of landscapes, even on the inner landscapes of the mind that brought you here. “Plants and flowers of Mediterranean Provence,” you write before falling asleep, with the window open and the desire to provide an answer that mentions iconic plants and flowers of the region. “Lavender, perhaps the most famous flower, which creates breathtaking purple fields. Sunflowers, fields of bright yellow that illuminate the landscape. Rosemary, an aromatic plant common in the Mediterranean scrub. Thyme, another aromatic herb that grows abundantly here. Oleander, a shrub with colorful flowers, widespread in gardens. Mimosa, particularly present in the Bormes-les-Mimosas area.”

“28 Rue de l’Opéra, please,” you ask the taxi driver, in front of the Aix-en-Provence train station. “I imagine you want to visit the home of our most famous fellow citizen! Paul Cézanne grew up here, but few understand why he dedicated his life to immortalizing the same mountain. However, believe me, his Montagne Sainte-Victoire revolutionized modern painting with brushstrokes that captured the structure of nature.” The art-savvy driver suggests you also visit Cézanne’s art studio: “Just two kilometers from here; I can take you in ten minutes. Money well spent,” he adds, after restarting his taxi’s engine. “If you want to see the places where Vincent van Gogh sought light and colors that could express his emotions, I suggest Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.” He observes you from the rearview mirror, your eyes meet, and he encourages you in his own way: “There he created fields of sunflowers, cypress trees, and starry nights.”

You rented a car to reach the places that reflected Vincent van Gogh‘s worldview. You enter the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole psychiatric hospital, you learn that he had his own studio there, but also that he was the only patient allowed to leave the facility. “He made 100 drawings and 150 paintings,” you note with a trembling hand in your diary. Your eyes are teary, you have discovered the secret of his iris flowers, the wheat field with reaper, and the most beautiful starry night in the world. You can’t explain why your tears are unintentional, with all the people who have loved you inside them. “Why cry at the memory of those who hurt me?” you wonder. Now you know that yellow and gold, sources of life and energy, also symbolize the prosperity and joy you are experiencing within yourself. “Purple, an icon of the region, is a symbol of calm, serenity, and spirituality. The tones of blue and turquoise evoke a sense of peace, tranquility, and freedom, reflecting the harmony between land and sea. Green represents fertility, growth, and a deep connection to the earth. Red and orange, warm and intense colors, represent passion, energy, and strength. Browns, ochres, and beiges, colors that reflect the ancient stones of the perched villages and the rustic architecture of the region, represent stability, rootedness, and connection with nature.” It seems that what you have just finished writing in your diary is helping to create a connection with your past; you are looking at life with different eyes.

The Provençal artists have conveyed to you the emotions and profound meanings that characterize their works. They are open windows that invite you to immerse yourself in a unique sensory and spiritual experience: “Mont Sainte-Victoire” by Paul Cézanne, “Starry Night Over the Rhône” by Vincent van Gogh. “The Chapel of the Rosary” by Henri Matisse, “Les Collettes” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and “La Vie” by Marc Chagall, are part of yourself. You return to Nice, fly back to your everyday life, and you feel different. You are determined to discover new corners of your city, just as if you were a tourist. You want to meet new people and cultivate existing friendships. You promise yourself to learn from the experiences and stories of others, but with the same open and positive mindset you had during the trip. “Every day I want to reflect on something I am grateful for. Why not appreciate the little things in life? I must not be afraid to step out of my comfort zone. Better to experience something you have never considered before. A person with mental issues; I could visit them and walk them out of the mental institution, help them find their inner light.”