The new Caumont Art
Center opens in Aix on May 6, with a major show featuring 60 works by Venetian
master Canaletto (1697-1768). The show, called Canaletto--Roma, London, Venice: The Triumph of Light, runs
until September 13, 2015.
Sixty paintings and drawings from international public and private collections will present the artist through all the different phases of his career.
The Caumont Art Center (officially called Caumont Centre d�Art) was conceived to celebrate and promote a wide range of fine arts
and is a major opening for this city of of 143,000, the birthplace of Paul C�zanne (1839�1906).
Each year, the Center will stage two major temporary exhibits
devoted to the grand masters of art history from the 14th to the 20th century. A summer exhibit will
be dedicated to the re-discovery of great masters from a new angle. A winter exhibit will
reveal treasures from private collections or from internationally renowned
museums. The exhibit space
comprises eight rooms, totaling 400 square
meters.
The mansion itself, known as the H�tel de Caumont and built in 1715, is located in the
Mazarin neighbourhood, the southern, aristocratic quarter of Aix. Built "between court
and garden,� it represents
an architectural style that first appeared in Paris in the 16th century�a
ch�teau and park on an urban scale. Four elements characterize the layout:
the gate, the courtyard, the main building and the garden, taking visitors from
public to private spaces. It was built on a square plot, with the main building
to the northeast, the cour d'honneur to
the northwest, an enclosed garden on the southeast and servants quarters (with
an outer courtyard) on the southwest. In
Aix, this type of construction disappeared in 1680, after which mansions
were built on street-front sites, distinguishing
them from the Parisian
style. The
H�tel de Caumont�s design, unlike anything in Aix, is considered an excellent example of French 18th-century architecture. The carriage gate, fa�ade and wrought
iron bannister are of such high quality that they were listed in a
supplementary inventory for Monuments Historiques in 1925. The entire mansion
was listed in 1987.
Compared to the exterior fa�ade, the interior is much more elaborately decorated and demonstrates a mix of
the Regency and Louis XV styles. More info on the architecture, design and furnishings
appears on the Caumont website.
In addition to the temporary exhibits, a 20-minute film dedicated to
Paul C�zanne (1839- 1906) will be screened daily in a 100-seat auditorium. "C�zanne in the Aix Region" follows
the career of the great Post-Impressionist painter who died of pneumonia in
Aix in 1906 and is buried in the Saint-Pierre
Cemetery.
The Art Center will also host concerts, dance performances,
readings and lectures. It�s also available for private functions, meetings and
social events.
Facilities include a bookstore, the ground-floor Caf� Caumont (open daily for breakfast,
afternoon tea and sweets, with a terrace overlooking the French gardens) and
the Lounge Bar Caumont, open Tuesday to Saturday evenings.
Caumont is operated by Culturespaces,
which oversees 14 important French sites, museums and monuments such as the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild (Saint
Jean Cap Ferrat), the Carrieres des Lumieres and Ch�teau des Baux (Les Baux) and the Roman Theatre in Orange.
Located at #3, rue Joseph Cabassol, the Caumont Art Center is open daily
from 10 am to 6 pm (October to April) and until 7 pm (April to October).
For all the info, click HERE.
Photos: (1) The mansion housing the museum was built in 1715. (2) Canaletto's "Le Bucentaure de
retour au M�le, le jour de l�Ascension." (3) Canaletto's "Caprice avec des
ruines classiques et des b�timents de la Renaissance?." (4) Restoration work on the mansion took 18 months. (5) Detail of ironwork adorning the balcony. (6) Cafe Caumont. (7) The "Chambre de Madame." (8) There are three paintings in the show not by Canaletto: two by Bellotto and one by Guardi. This is Bellotto's "Venise : Caprice
avec une maison sur la lagune."
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