Art In Limousin

­Limousin is famed for its marvellous landscape, its castles and lakes, wildlife and wonderful traditional cuisine. You may have heard of Limousin cattle and Limoges porcelain, but Limousin’s links to the arts is much less well known.

The Tapestries of Aubusson
In the 15th century Felletin and Aubusson in the Creuse, became the centre of the world for tapestry making using the work of some of the best know painters in the history of art for inspiration. Watteau, Picasso, Le Corbusier, Dom Robert, Picard le Doux, Riberzani, have all had their work transformed into tapestries.

Constable and the School of Crozant
It was the English painter, John Constable, that inspired a return to landscape in France.  At the beginning of the 19th century, the neoclassical tradition was in vogue, but following the exhibition of several of Constable’s paintings in 1824 at the Paris Salon, young artists began to look towards nature for inspiration.

The Barbizon painters, best known precursors to the Impressionists, worked in the forests of Fonainbleu, but what better place to see nature at her most raw and sublime than in the Creuse? In 1830 some of the Barbizon painters, together with other landscape artists, gathered together around the village of Crozant. By the turn of the 19th century more than 500 Impresionists worked in this area and the School of Crozant, as it was called, continued to be active until 1926. Their painting was inspired by the  ruines of the Fortress of Crozant which dominated a rugged and magnificent valley at the confluence of the rivers Creuse and the Sédelle.

The Crozant artists included Theodore Rousseau, Allan Osterlind, Francis Picabia, Leon Detroy, Armand Guillaumin, and, perhaps the most famous of all, Claude Monet.

Claude Monet in Fresselines
Monet (1840-1926), one of the leading and best known of the French School of Impressionist painting, stayed for three months in the village of Fresselines and, inspired by the rugged landscape and light in the Creuse, painted his very first series of 23 paintings there in 1889.

Corot at St Junien
It was in the softer, greener landscape of the Haute-Vienne that Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875) chose to work. He painted on the verdant banks of the river Glane just outside Saint Junien, inspired by pretty trees and picturesque rocks. You can visite the area, which is well signed, and see this lovely landscape for yourself.

Auguste Renoir
After Monet, perhaps the second most famous and well loved Impressionist painter was Auguste Renoir.  He was born in the city of Limoges, capital of the Limousin, in 1841 and you can see his work in the Museum de l’Evéché, next to Limoges cathedral.

The Limousin, a Hub of Modern Art
There are several outstanding centres of Modern art in Limousin. The Chateau of Rochechouart in the Haute-Vienne, now devoted to showing contemorary art, has several exhibitions a year, as well as a permanent exhibition of the work by Raoul Hausmann.

Each year during the summer the owners of the nearby Chateau of Saint-Auvent organises an interesting exhibition, often drawing on the work of young artists from abroad.

On lake Vassivière Island there is an impressive Centre for Contemporary Art, and the island itself is a showpiece of modern sculptures based on the theme of integrating nature into the landscape.

Other interesting exhibition spaces can be found in Limoges, Eymoutiers and Meymac in the Correzze.

It is this commitment to showing the best of modern art, to guarding its rich artistic history, the romance of its ancient monuments, the quality of light and the wildness of the landscape that make the Limousin an ideal destination for artists and art lovers today. Those looking for art and painting holidays will be sure to find a course ideally suited to their needs and they will be able to experience this unspoilt landscape much as Corot and Monet did over a century ago.

Barbara Walton
Les Trois Chênes
Cours de Peinture  Chambre d'hôtes Gîte
Painting Courses  B&B   Holiday Cottage
Le Bourg, 87600 Videix, FRANCE
TEL : +33 (0)5 55 48 29 84
info@lestroischenes.com
www.lestroischenes.com

If you enjoyed this article please Social Bookmark so that others can benefit .....

Related Articles:
Take a ride into Limousin
Limousin's raspberries help French tourism
Horse around in Limousin
The cost of living in France
Life in Limousin
Feel the music of Limousin
Farm renovation in Limousin
Gold panning in Limousin
Feel the music of Limousin
Festival fun in Limousin