Painting
The Alpilles, like the Camargue, are the domain of painters. All the great masters have asserted that there is something divine about the light here. This transcendence can be seen on the walls of museums, in the works of the great names in this major art form. But we shouldn't forget the dozens of lesser-known painters, even amateurs in the noble sense of the word, who exhibit in small galleries, shops and public places. Their work deserves a closer look. Saint-Rémy and Arles in particular (but there are many others) are two towns brimming with these intimate venues where you can admire an exceptional concentration of talent.
Of course, the great names in pictorial art remain the spearhead of tourist visits. The town of Saint-Rémy, for example, offers a rather original and didactic way of discovering Van Gogh, walking through the streets and places he visited, right up to the room he occupied at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in 1889 (now the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole Cultural Center).
In Arles, the city of light and creation par excellence, you can stroll along a "gallery trail". This itinerary identifies the city's year-round and occasional exhibition venues. As you stroll through the shady lanes, you'll be sure to make some wonderful encounters, both human and artistic.
Don't miss out on a visit to the exceptional Van Gogh Foundation, which houses a unique collection of works by contemporary artists wishing to pay tribute to the master. All the artistic trends of the 20th century are represented.
Photography
As for painting, the Alpilles and the Camargue are the Mecca of photography in France. Every year and throughout the year, many meetings and exhibitions are scheduled. If Arles shines at the world level in this field, with its famous international photographic meetings, one does not count the training courses, temporary or permanent exhibitions and other shows which take place in the cities and the villages of the territory. Without prejudging the value of these events, some of them are more renowned than others. We mentioned the famous "Rencontres", but we should not forget Saint-Rémy, which is also a major center in the field; one can visit many galleries and temporary or permanent exhibition rooms.
If the Alpilles and the Camargue attract so many professional and amateur photographers, it is above all, as for painting, for the purity of the light, the colors that one finds there and the variety of the subjects which are offered to the glance. Nature is omnipresent in the works of photographers. It is enough to visit the exhibitions organized during the Rencontres animalières et de nature de Saint-Martin-de-Crau et du Marais de Vigueirat to be convinced of this. Always sponsored by great names, these meetings are also an opportunity to reveal some talents during the numerous competitions, training courses and training courses very appreciated by the public.
Sculpture
Nearly thirty thousand years ago, men understood that they could leave a lasting imprint by shaping the rock. And as the Alpilles have been inhabited since time immemorial, what could be more normal than to find these testimonies engraved in the stone. Of course, the vestiges of this period are not plentiful, but we can still find some prehistoric engravings in caves that are difficult to access.
The numerous Roman monuments, with their statuary, allow us to discover exceptional works, in their original context. The departmental museum of ancient Arles presents a beautiful panel of major works, such as the statue of Aïon or the statue of Medea and many other marvels.
The Middle Ages also left its share of fixed images. In the religious buildings, of Romanesque inspiration, one can see on pilasters and capitals representations often symbolic of a disturbing bestiary. These allegorical figures, coming from the depths of the ages, evoked the fears of the moment.
Closer to us, modern artists perpetuate this will to work the mineral matter. One can visit, in the Alpilles and in the Camargue, many galleries and artists' workshops. Some initiatives even have a large echo. The amateurs come from far away, for example, to immerse themselves in the sculpture park of Baux-de-Provence, which is a true open-air gallery. One can discover works of contemporary sculptors, staged in this tortured environment of the old quarries of the Val d'enfer.
Other communes also host interesting initiatives. In Maussane-les-Alpilles, for example, one can see an astonishing puzzle representing the map of the departments of France, each piece of which was created by a different sculptor.
