France: Arty in Arles
November 2007, by Gini
To break our journey to Nice we settled on Arles for some fine art culture and a slice of Roman history to taste. We arrived with a carnival in full swing at the train stations front door step, it seems the French like a good bumper car ride or sugar donut in the middle of Autumn to keep them jolly.
We thought we would be the only tourists in the small town of fifty thousand but we soon discovered it was bustling with Japanese, American and Italian tourists all wanting a piece of Mr Van Gogh. Arles featured in Vincent's short life and it was here, where he produced over three hundred paintings over a 15 month period. It was also here where he is famously known for chopping off his own ear.
With over three hundred paintings of the landscape, the people and life lived here not one painting remains in Arles. Instead of a gallery full of white walls and perfect lighting with railings protecting all aspects of the art and no art to show, the town has set up a new approach with a walking trail. With a map in hand we wondered around the town to a few of Vincent's well known painted scenes of Arles. At every scene is an easel with a copy of the work where Vincent himself might have set up to paint the scene. It was really interesting to see the scene and then Vincent's spin on it, it adds a new dimension to the art in its origin.
In between outside gallery viewings we squeezed in a few ruins which were a little before Vincent's time and even featured in his paintings. You couldn't help but find the Roman Amphitheatre as it seemed all roads led to it. It kind of sticks out and belongs to another century clearly. You just have to laugh when a smart car is driving around a two thousand year old Roman building and stop and think, a Roman would have never in their wildest dreams dreamt up this scene. But putting the dreaming aside, the structure is nothing on the Colosseum in Rome but is still a remarkable structure of perfect workmanship and an interesting history. Around the 17th century believe it or not this Amphitheatre housed two hundred and twelve homes and two churches, mostly inside like a tiny town and it filled the arches with doors and windows. I have to admit with no disrespect to the Romans, the tiny town would have been a sight to see!
Today the Amphitheatre is still used to entertain the masses but not with criminal Gladiators and lions but with annual bullfights. So it still has all its scaffolding around the upper seating to replace what has been lost from the structure. Another site which is also used today is the Roman Theatre. A semi circle seating design facing a stage which now only has two pillars standing.
With so much history to absorb it left our tummies hungry for more, food that is. We stumbled across a cute courtyard full of cafés with one being the famous subject in Vincent's painting, Café Terrace at Night. We happily agreed on Omelets and weren't sorry. With food in our bellies we tried to walk some of it off by wandering aimlessly around town. In our wonderings we stumbled across the towns market day with all sorts of goodies from veges to spices, shoes to dinner plates, you name it someone was selling it. It was a mini show starring rotating rotisserie chickens, fresh cheese tasters and boiling snails in juice but only for the eyes because the mouth wouldn't budge. G
We thought we would be the only tourists in the small town of fifty thousand but we soon discovered it was bustling with Japanese, American and Italian tourists all wanting a piece of Mr Van Gogh. Arles featured in Vincent's short life and it was here, where he produced over three hundred paintings over a 15 month period. It was also here where he is famously known for chopping off his own ear.
With over three hundred paintings of the landscape, the people and life lived here not one painting remains in Arles. Instead of a gallery full of white walls and perfect lighting with railings protecting all aspects of the art and no art to show, the town has set up a new approach with a walking trail. With a map in hand we wondered around the town to a few of Vincent's well known painted scenes of Arles. At every scene is an easel with a copy of the work where Vincent himself might have set up to paint the scene. It was really interesting to see the scene and then Vincent's spin on it, it adds a new dimension to the art in its origin.
In between outside gallery viewings we squeezed in a few ruins which were a little before Vincent's time and even featured in his paintings. You couldn't help but find the Roman Amphitheatre as it seemed all roads led to it. It kind of sticks out and belongs to another century clearly. You just have to laugh when a smart car is driving around a two thousand year old Roman building and stop and think, a Roman would have never in their wildest dreams dreamt up this scene. But putting the dreaming aside, the structure is nothing on the Colosseum in Rome but is still a remarkable structure of perfect workmanship and an interesting history. Around the 17th century believe it or not this Amphitheatre housed two hundred and twelve homes and two churches, mostly inside like a tiny town and it filled the arches with doors and windows. I have to admit with no disrespect to the Romans, the tiny town would have been a sight to see!
Today the Amphitheatre is still used to entertain the masses but not with criminal Gladiators and lions but with annual bullfights. So it still has all its scaffolding around the upper seating to replace what has been lost from the structure. Another site which is also used today is the Roman Theatre. A semi circle seating design facing a stage which now only has two pillars standing.
With so much history to absorb it left our tummies hungry for more, food that is. We stumbled across a cute courtyard full of cafés with one being the famous subject in Vincent's painting, Café Terrace at Night. We happily agreed on Omelets and weren't sorry. With food in our bellies we tried to walk some of it off by wandering aimlessly around town. In our wonderings we stumbled across the towns market day with all sorts of goodies from veges to spices, shoes to dinner plates, you name it someone was selling it. It was a mini show starring rotating rotisserie chickens, fresh cheese tasters and boiling snails in juice but only for the eyes because the mouth wouldn't budge. G
Gini and moustache man from the view above the Amphitheatre.
Cafe Terrace at night scene
Van Gogh scene - The Trinquetaille Bridge
