Monet, Renoir, Chagall...in Les Baux

What used to be the Cathedrale des Images is now the Carrières de Lumières...the Quarries of Light...a magical space in a vast cave-like quarry at the base of the village of Les Baux. And their new sound and light show is about to begin. It's called ''Monet, Renoir...Chagall: Journeys Around the Mediterranean'' and you have almost a year to see it: it runs from March 8, 2013 to January 5, 2014. 

The Cathedrale closed in 2011 and re-opened a year ago, with new management (the folks at Culturespaces) and state-of-the-art technology. Rumor has it that more than €2 million was spent to refurbish the 5000-square-meter site at the time; the last show (''Gauguin, Van Gogh: Painters of Color'') drew great reviews and 239,000 people came to see it. Now, thanks to further improvements done in advance of the new show, close to 100 video projectors will generate the carefully choreographed movement of 3,000 images over an area of more than 7,000 square meters, onto walls as high as 14 meters (45 feet), onto the ceilings and even the floor. 

Here's what Culturespaces says about ''Monet, Renoir...Chagall: Journeys Around the Mediterranean'':

''In the second half of the 19th century, many artists left Paris and the North behind, attracted by the light of the South, setting up their easels between the Spanish border and the Italian Riviera. Their artistic personalities were revealed through the contact with seascapes portraying the Mediterranean coast which they depicted in a wide diversity of styles. After a prologue devoted to Joseph Vernet, visitors will be plunged in seven sequences into the world of the Impressionists, with Monet and Renoir, the Pointillists, with Signac and Cross, the Fauves, with Camoin, Derain, Vlaminck, Friesz, Manguin, Marquet and Valtat, etc....and of course Matisse. You'll also discover the palette of bright colours used by Bonnard and Dufy, ultimately coming to one of the most important colourists of modern art: Chagall. All together you'll see, through dramatic projections, 15 artists' impressions of the Mediterranean and its extraordinary light.'' 

The Carrières de Lumières is located in the Val d’Enfer, a stone's throw from Les Baux. The quarry was created over the years for extracting the white limestone used in the construction of the village of Les Baux and its chateau. In 1935, economic competition from modern materials led to the closure of the quarries. Dramatic and otherworldly looking, the area has inspired artists of all sorts; the Val d'Enfer provided the setting for Dante’s Divine Comedy and Gounod created his opera Mireille here. Later, Cocteau came to film The Testament of Orpheus in these very quarries. The Carrières du Val d’Enfer has been awarded Natural Monument status in France. 

The Carrières de Lumières are open every day from 9.30 am to 7 pm (March to September) and from 10 am to 6 pm (October to January).

Carrières de Lumières 
Route de Maillane  
13520 Les Baux de Provence 
Tel. : +33 4 90 54 47 37
carrieres-lumieres.com
message@carrieres-lumieres.com

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What Are You Doing This Weekend?

The weather is gorgeous in Provence and it looks like it will be a perfect weekend. If you're around, here are some things that might interest you...

This is the launch weekend for Sun-e-Bikes in the Luberon. They've got 200 new electric bikes for rent and you can pick them up and drop them off in any of three villages. There are battery charging stations along the way and rates are very reasonable. To get all the details about the new Sun-e-Bike program, click here (French only; English coming soon) or call 04-90-74-09-96. To see their great multi-day packages that include hotel stays, click here. And to read more about electric biking in Provence, click here.

Saturday and Sunday is Les Printemps de Châteauneuf-du-Pape up in--you guessed it--Châteauneuf. Seventy-eight wineries will be pouring; tickets are 7€. Get all the info here.

The Carrières de Lumières (Quarries of Light) officially opened today in Les Baux. You may remember it as the Cathedrale des Images. It's been closed for more than a year and it's now being managed by the folks at Culturespaces. It's a dramatic sound and light show in a vast bauxite quarry. The new 35-minute show is called Gauguin and Van Gogh: Painters of Color and it runs until January 6, 2013.  Rumor has it that more than €2 million was spent to refurbish the 5000-square-meter site and launch the show, which uses 70 video projectors, 3,000 images and high-tech audio adapted specifically to the site.  Friends who saw Gauguin and Van Gogh last night say it was terrific. The Carrières de Lumières is located in the Val d’Enfer, a stone's throw from Les Baux. Dramatic and otherworldly looking, the area has inspired artists of all sorts; the Val d'Enfer provided the setting for Dante’s “Divine Comedy” and Gounod created his opera “Mireille” here. Later, Cocteau came to film “The Testament of Orpheus” in these very quarries. The Carrières du Val d’Enfer has been awarded Natural Monument status in France. For all the info, click here.

Finally, there's a picnic happening on Sunday, up at the Lac des Peiròu in St. Remy. The idea is to bring together French, American and English folks of all ages, just for fun. Bring a blanket, bring your own food (and supplies), bring something to share if you like...and call Magali on Saturday, please, if you plan to come. The picnic starts at 11:30. Magali's phone: 06-49-58-33-75. Don't know the lake? It's an historic reservoir and one of the prettiest places around. You can read about it here.

Photos: The reservoir in St. Remy by De Crig; images from "Gauguin and Van Gogh" at the Carrières de Lumières.

Who Cut Off Van Gogh's Ear?

For more than a century, Vincent Van Gogh has been known as the tortured genius who sliced off his own ear in a fit of madness. But a new study claims that Paul Gauguin actually lopped it off with a sword as the two artists argued over a prostitute. In a new book, German art historians Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans contend Van Gogh let everyone think he had mutilated himself in order to protect Gauguin from prosecution, Britain's Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph reported yesterday. According to the book, Gauguin dumped the sword into the Rhone River but it has never been found. Click here or here to read the whole story...