Top-heavy limestone
When Cézanne got away from it all, he didn’t mess around. This remote pine-forested site high on a sandstone plateau was where he escaped city life.
Before Cézanne discovered it, the site was used by the city of Aix as a quarry. The tall, top-heavy red rocks were chiseled by hand, chipped from the bottom. If you look around Aix, you’ll notice many buildings were constructed from this rock.
Inspiring view of Mont Sainte-Victoire
In addition to ideal natural lighting that enhanced the orange rocks and their odd angles, the site offered an incredible view of Mont Sainte-Victoire.
The cabin
Cézanne rented a cabin and spent long stretches of time living there and painting. He produced 11 oil paintings and 16 watercolors, featuring the quarries and Mont Sainte-Victoire.
A natural arch
The only way to see the quarries is on a guided tour, so we booked the hour-long walk in the tourist office. The tour stopped at select vantage points, where we could compare Cézanne’s work to today’s scenery.
We drove about 15 minutes from the city center to a designated parking lot, where we met the tour guide. From there, we took a shuttle up the hill and to the quarries.
This is a mystery
3090 chemin de Bibémus, 13100 Aix en Provence
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