This past Friday the Marchutz kids went on a field trip around our lovely city of Aix. We were fearful of bad weather but everything cleared up and turned into a sunny, albeit blustery and chilly, day. We exploded many sides of the city staying mainly in the countryside and standing in Cezanne’s motifs (the places from which he painted), most of which faced Mt. Saint Victoire.
Probably one of the best parts of the day was visiting the area of The Château Noir. This is a property owned privately by a family that has been there a very long time. The family who lived there when Cezanne was painting continues to live there.
My professors are very connected to this land…and here’s how - Leo Marchutz, the man who founded my school, was a Cezanne scholar and befriended Cezanne’s coachman after he died. The coachman took him to Cezanne’s motifs and it was at Château Noir that he befriended the family who owns this property. Since then the land has passed through the family and their connection with my school has continued. Both of my professors are among the few who are allowed on the land and who also have their own personal studios there. The curator for the US’s National Gallery in DC asked to go on the land of le Château Noir to take pictures for an exhibition that was being set up and the man who owns the property said no to him. The man who owns the land now is a very strange bird, but we love him. He never leaves the large property and maintains all the land himself. He loves the south of France but doesn’t like the bureaucracy of the city of Aix. He, however, likes John and Alan and lets them take us students around the property once a year. We’re the only students in the entire world who get to see these motifs. Because of our professor’s connections we get to visit the motifs that the head curator of the National Gallery didn’t see. Yea, that’s right, we’re pretty much awesome (and very lucky!).
It was a great (long) field trip and afterwards I was chilly and tired! I had every intention of walking back into town after dinner to hang out at a friend’s house and play cards, but after dinner I sat on my bed and was hit by the biggest wave of fatigue ever. So after a great day full of learning I figured it was okay to stay in and relax!
Here’s a Cezanne painting from the motif only we’re allowed to see.
And here’s what the local’s think about this land.
“The château in those paintings derives its name from rumors about its owner, rather than from its appearance. It was built in the 18th century by an industrialist from Marseilles, who manufactured lampblack paint (derived from soot). He also used it to decorate the interior walls and furniture of the château. As a result, he was associated with black magic among the local people, who believed that the château was also home to the devil.”
Also, here are some of my paintings from this semester! Enjoy! If you’d like to see more check out my facebook page if you’re on there.
In other news:
Aix is bustling with Christmas activity. I love it!
In more traumatizing news – today Mamie fed me veal bone marrow…well it’s a delicacy to her. When in France!
It was salty and not very appetizing smelling, but I ate it regardless because, hey, I’m in France! Time to get down and dirty with this culture. So today I did. And, well, it was interesting but I’m glad I did it!
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