Le Cateau-Cambrésis, birthplace of Matisse's genius
Among the many painters who have left their mark on the Hauts-de-France, Henri Matisse is probably the one who has been among the most influential. At the origin of fauvism, he was admired as well as envied by his peers.
Henri Matisse was born in 1869 in Cateau-Cambrésis and also lived in the Aisne, in the weaving village of Bohain-en-Vermandois. His parents sold colors and pigments in their small business, which gave him his first contact with the world of art. His family home is located at 26 rue du Château, and you can visit it to discover the history of the village and his childhood. This is where he got his taste for colors and vegetable forms.
When his mother gave him his first box of colors, the future artist had a revelation for painting. He had a second revelation when he admired Goya's paintings at the Palace of Fine Arts, including The Eves and the Young : art can be a language, it can be his even if he does not paint in a conventional way.
Today, in addition to his family home, there are many testimonies of the artist's presence in the region. His collection Jazz at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille, 20 plates on the circus, tales and travels, offered in 1947. A stained glass window in gouaches cut out, originally intended for the Chapel of the Rosary of Vence, finally offered to the school of Cateau-Cambrésis in which it always appears (in the playroom). There is another significant testimony in the city, the Matisse Museum, whose creation dates back to a desire of the artist. He gave them 82 of his works and it is a marvel of colors to visit. He died in 1954 before seeing "his museum", but it continues to pay tribute to this great man with over 800 works.
The Valenciennes region has also seen the birth of many painters, the most famous of whom is probably Antoine Watteau, of whom the city museum holds four paintings and who gave his name to the nearby high school. We can also mention Charles-Dominique-Joseph Eisen, Jacques Saly... Many of these artists wore several hats: painter, engraver, illuminator or sculptor. Interesting to know: in the 15th century, the many painters, engravers, sculptors and embroiderers of Valenciennes joined together in the brotherhood of Saint-Luc.
The painters of the Opal Coast : a whole history
The designation of "Côte d'Opale" of our beautiful coastline has its origin in painting and arts. In 1911, it was Édouard Lévêque, a painter from Le Touquet, who decided to name the coastline of Le Touquet in particular and the entire coastline between Le Crotoy and Equihen-Plage, "Côte d'Opale", in homage to its particular light. Since then, the name has remained, and has earned Le Touquet the nickname of "Pearl of the Opal Coast".
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, a large number of painters began to frequent the Opal Coast. Marine painting was particularly fashionable at that time, due to its striking nature, its picturesque scenes of life, the atmosphere of the ports or the many technical details of the ships. Moreover, the development of railroads made many cities accessible to painters who were staying in their own territory. According to their pied-à-terre, these painters will be nicknamed the Wissant school, the Etaples school of painters or the Berck painters.
It is the school of Wissant which initiates the movement, with the leading couple Adrien and Virginie Demont-Breton, who will welcome others like Henri Duhem, Fernand Stévenart, Marie Huhem-Sergeant, Félix Planquette and Valentine Pèpe.
Then, a year later, Étaples became a favorite place for Parisians, and more than 200 painters came to settle between 1882 and 1914, forming the Étaples School of Painters. They were French (Eugène Chigot, Henri-Eugène Le Sidaner), but also American, Australian or Scandinavian, giving the place a very particular artistic effervescence, which is partly reflected in La Maison du Port and its thirty or so works. The city is indeed very appreciated for its authenticity, its natural landscapes and its easy access by train from Paris.
For Berck, we can mention Edouard Manet, Eugène Boudin, Louis Montaigu or Charles Roussel. All this artistic enthusiasm will be partly stifled by the Great War but has left a lasting impression on the region, where many museums still pay tribute to the famous painters of the Opal Coast.
From the end of June to the end of November 2021, a first edition of the "Chemin des peintres de la Côte d'Opale" (Opal Coast Painters' Trail) is organized by the Pas-de-Calais region in order to promote the works of these painters in partnership with many municipalities. Whether by the sea or in natural sites, 82 large format panels will help you discover the works of the Opal Coast painters. This path also takes you to the Maison du Port départemental d'Étaples, which exhibits some thirty works on the premises, and to the Château d'Hardelot.
Numerous artistic venues
Many museums in the region give pride of place to painters from the Hauts-de-France. For example, at the Musée de Picardie in Amiens, the North Gallery is dedicated to "Portrait(s) of a Region and an Era", bringing together works from different periods. One can admire a monumental work by Francis Tattegrain, a famous painter from Berck, entitled Les Deuillants which evokes the pain of a family who lost their husband and father at sea.
The cultural and artistic dynamism is particularly present on the Opal Coast and there are many places to cultivate a taste for art. In Calais, the Musée des Beaux Arts invites you to discover the city and its artists with the collection " Calais, d'ici et d'ailleurs " and its 150 works, some of which are by Calais artists (Louis Francia, Jeanne Thil...), photographs of Calais from the beginning of the 20th century, old Flemish paintings, English watercolors or Bourdelle, Picasso, Roulland, Carpeaux... Also worth noting is the museum of Le Touquet-Paris plage or the FRAC Nord Pas-de-Calais in Dunkerque where you can admire more than 1,500 works.
When art takes to the streets
In parallel to this cultural effervescence, art is increasingly taking over the streets with the creation of numerous "street-art" circuits and festivals. Whether it is to pay homage to heritage or to revalorize certain neglected cities, the effect is beautiful.
In the Lille metropolis, there are many circuits in Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing... Every two years, the BIAM (International Biennial of Mural Art) is organized by the Renart collective with the intervention of many artists in the Metropolis, but also in the Denaisis or the Valenciennois. Every year, the Urban Experiences festival takes place in the Roubaix area, around street art, but also dance, sports and music. Other actors of the urban culture are regularly noticed, like the Halle de Glisse or the Flow.
In the Oise region, the village of Pont-L'Eveque has made a name for itself by becoming the only village in France to participate in a national urban art competition. It was the Pontépiscop'Art festival that launched the movement in 2019, with the selection of one of the frescoes (Utopia, by the artist Hopare) of the city among the finalists of the Golden street-art.
In the Somme, in the summer of 2021, a building slated for destruction was completely transformed into an ephemeral urban art transition space in Abbeville. The event was a huge success, with visitors from all over the world and almost all the slots filled.
In the Aisne, the city of Saint-Quentin is doing well. Since 2015, it invites every year many artists to come and transform its walls during the festival Ceci n'est pas un tag. In Soissons too, you can follow the urban route C215 with 25 portraits scattered throughout the city, to meet the great characters of local and national history.
In the Boulogne region, street art has found its place for several years. It often gives back to the history of the places, with many works around the sea and the fishermen, but not only. So much so that several street-art festivals have been created, such as the one in Boulogne-sur-Mer which takes place from the end of July to the end of August every year, transforming the city into an "open air museum". On this occasion, one can meet many artists at work, who transform the city as they go along. Among the most remarkable works is Gonzalo Borondo's trompe-l'oeil on a huge staircase in the city, on Jules Baudelocque Street. According to the artist, this work illustrates life, it first displays a closed door, but the more you climb the stairs, the more you go beyond the difficulties. The mural was awarded the first prize in the Golden Street Art 2020, a first for the city, which has had several murals that were finalists but never winners. The city also made a name for itself by hosting the "Audubon Walls" initiative, whose murals raise awareness about endangered bird species. The Boulogne-sur-Mer fresco is located on rue Laënnec and features the kestrel in the foreground in a colorful work.
Has Boulogne-sur-Mer been emulated on the Opal Coast? It would seem so, because in 2021, the Calais street-art festival celebrated its second birthday and contributed to the spread of urban culture throughout the city. It must be said that this one had been noticed with the arrival of Banksy. In 2015, he dedicated four works to raise awareness of the living conditions of migrants. The first was made at the entrance of the former "jungle" of Calais, which housed hundreds of migrants. It represents Steve Jobs, himself the son of a Syrian emigrant. The second was drawn on the wall of a building, inspired by the raft of the Medusa. This one was unfortunately erased when the owner decided to rejuvenate his facade. The third one is still visible on the beach of Calais, with a young girl looking through her spyglass towards England, without seeing the vulture on her spyglass. The fourth is located under a bridge and is more minimalist with a simple inscription "Maybe this will solve itself...".
