Our sixth port-of-call on our December 2016 Norwegian "Spirit" cruise was Marseilles. We docked right next to the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier. Tricia-Rose and I joined a bus tour to Aix-en-Provence but soon after the tour began of this lovely town I left the group to find Cezanne's last studio which was up the hill above town. With a little searching I entered the gate to Cezanne's garden and climbed the stairs to his atelier. Cezanne was an early innovator of modern art and greatly influenced Picasso and many of his contemporaries. Cezanne would often climb further up the hill to paint "plein air" images of his favorite mountain, Mont St. Victoire. I didn't have time to reach this spot but I will be back to spend more time tracking Cezanne's artistic path. I made a fine connection with his spirit through his palette, art case, brushes, and paint-smeared smock. I had a fine walk back through town to the bus back to Marseilles.
Click any image to enlarge.
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| Cezanne's Mont St. Victoire |
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| Cezanne climbed these stairs every day to work |
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| Memorial honoring U.S. forces that liberated this town from the Nazis and Vichy collaborators |
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| The USS "Ike" |
