The Palette of Provence

So 2 Fridays ago, my program here took us on an excursion into the heart of Provence, Le Luberon.  Our first stop was the village of Lourmarin, which besides being beautiful, is known for its 15th century chateau (castle).  We bought lunch at the market in Lourmarin, and then went to the village of Lacoste for a picnic on the spot where the castle of the Marquis de Sade used to stand.  In case you haven’t heard of him, he’s famous for being kind of insane, and for, as my professor said, being “fascinated with blood and backsides.”  Ever heard the word sadism?  It comes from him.

The last village we visited was Roussillon, where all the houses in the village are read and orange.  There is an old ocre quarry right next to the village where workers would extract the pigment from the soil to make paints and dyes.  The quarry is beautiful.  I’ve never seen such brilliant colors of soil. Everything is reds, oranges, yellows, and purples.  Even the trees in the quarry have an orange tint from the pigment.

I’m taking a myth and media of Provence class (Provence is the region of France where I’m studying) and almost everything I have learned about Provence, I saw during this excursion, from vineyards to olive tree groves, to the markets, to the colors.  Something my profesor has emphasized in class is the colors of Provence.  Oranges, yellows, light browns, reds, olive tree-green, tans, lavender, soft sky blue – these are the palette of Provence, with everything bathed in the warm, yellow sunlight.  Look for the colors in my pictures, and I think you’ll start to get a feel for what I’m talking about.

Our first look at the castle at Lourmarin.

Olive trees are characteristic of Provence and show up in a lot of media depictions of the area. The olive tree green is definitely part of the Provence Palette.

Notice the color of the stone of the castle – so Provence.

more olive trees

Perhaps this post should be called a study in flowers, since I took like 500 pictures of these beautiful little white flowers, and am sharing about half of them with you.

The village of Lourmarin – the muted colors you see here are the Provencal Palatte. Notice the softer shades of blue and green in the sky and grass, and then the darker pine green shades of the trees. Also notice how the colors of nature interact with the pale brown, tanish, white of the village itself.

Albert Camus is buried in the graveyard of the Lourmarin.

Look at the color of the stone.

Colors to note: the dark trees and the stone

Look closely at the wall decorations. They are cicadas, the bug of Provence. You can see them everywhere if you look. They’re even sold in various forms (toys, decorations) as souvenirs.

Another Provence Palette color – this light purple

Colors: the light blue shudders, the stone of the house, and the brown of the vines

The market of Lourmarin – keep looking for the colors of Provence

Here’s the castle in its entirety.

Colors – the yellowish stone and the sky

Provence is covered in vineyards. Unfortunately there are no grapes right now.

Here’s a view from the top of Lacoste, where the castle of the Marquis de Sade used to stand. Keep looking for the Provence colors.

White, red, white stone, soft green

browns, yellows, greens

I love old architecture. You get tiny medieval doorways like this.

The village of Roussillon – reds, oranges, yellows, browns

The former quarry for the red and orange pigment from Roussillon’s soil.

yellows, oranges, reds, the muted green of the trees

Look at the beauty of what God creates – there is purple, yellow, red, and orange in the soil right here.

Purple!!!

Study Abroad pals

A random piece of artwork in the village of Roussillon.

Palette – what do you see?

We were hungry when we got back and so we splurged a little on crepes. I got this amazing crepe with whip cream, almonds, and a sauce who’s name I can’t seem to remember…

 

• April 6, 2013
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