The Douanier Rousseau in Les Baux de Provence
From 31 January 2025 at the Carrières des lumières in Les Baux de Provence
Short programme :
Henri Rousseau metamorphoses the Parisian villages into enigmatic, fairytale forests. By the light of the silvery moon, he invites us to wander by night and then by day through these woods, where the luxuriant vegetation dominates the rare human figures emerging in the middle of the clearings. We meet romantic and intriguing characters, lost in a labyrinth of vegetation that Rousseau describes with care, accompanied by the piece "Aquarium" from Camille Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals.
This stroll is then tinged with lightness and gaiety as we discover the landscapes of a Paris that is waking up. The artist depicted himself in his famous self-portrait Moi-même, portrait-paysage (1890), enthusiastically observing the rise of industrialisation, which gradually transformed his views, always in harmony with nature. Factory chimneys rose higher and higher, metal structures spread out, while telegraph poles and the Eiffel Tower formed the backdrop to a capital in the throes of modernisation at the dawn of the twentieth century.
The route continues along the banks of the Seine and Marne rivers to reach the countryside. The blue skies are filled with zeppelins, hot-air balloons and aeroplanes, while life seems gentle and colourful in the parks and rolling landscapes of this bucolic interlude. In works such as The Football Players (1908), the protagonists vie for the ball, while children of sometimes astonishing proportions stare at the viewer, their feet concealed by ingenious tricks that testify to the resourcefulness of the self-taught painter.
Deeply in love with his country, Henri Rousseau also expresses his civic convictions through his paintings. The scenes of artillerymen, soldiers and popular festivals plunge the visitor into a festive round, under Republican flags and a shower of multicoloured confetti, a final bouquet that ends this chapter on a brilliant note.
Our 3-star hotel in Les Baux de Provence is located very close to the Carrières des Lumières, just 5 minutes away by car.
