Hôtel de Caumont — Attraction in Aix-en-Provence

In 1988 ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi wrote a great ad for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London: “‘An ace caff with quite a nice museum attached”. It could have been written again this year for Hôtel de Caumont Centre d’Art. Taken as a package it’s worth a four star rating because it’s greater than the sum of its parts. The Pierre Bonnard exhibition on currently is about the inspiration he got from Japanese art and prints in particular. Clearly this is true but the curation doesn’t make the connections come to life. And the bottom line is that Bonnard is far from the best painter of his time. The permanent collection is slight - pretty decoration of its kind, but nothing outstanding in terms of art works, furniture, or objects. And nothing in particular to learn about the owners. This leaves the cafe, which is really rather good. Rather grand interiors contrast with a more contemporary terrace. At the end of which is a beautiful little garden. Our food was good and service to match. Definitely...

Located just south of Cour Mirabeau, the Hotel de Caumont is actually a museum (don't be confused by the preface "hotel" which just means home). In this case, the home was owned by an aristocratic family in pre-revolutionary France and the owners have an interesting history interconnected with European royalty.

The building is beautifully restored as are the surrounding grounds and the small garden. Inside, the first two rooms (music room and bedroom) are equally exquisite. But that is all there is to see of that ornately decorated period.

Following those rooms was an exhibit on a totally tangentially related artist called Yves Klein who was a post-modern "blue" artist. Very inconsistent with the setting.

For the cost of 14.50 Euro per visitor I do not think it is worth it...or at least if you are not as interested in Yves Klein. We would have loved to have seen more of the beautifully restored 18th century...

Exhibition showing at the moment on painter Pierre Bonnard and the Japanais movement. Lots of his works and Japanese prints. Of interest to some. I thought the price of admission was pretty steep. There are also a few rooms that capture the 18th century origins of the mansion, a garden, and a cafe. In the first building where you buy your tickets, a movie about Cezanne was showing. You are allowed in only when the film starts, about every 30 minutes. The place is not good for people unable to climb stairs. There is a lift, which the staff have to call, to view the film, but they left us to make our way up steps to get to the main building. Once there another staff operated lift will take you up and down to view the exhibition. Forget the garden though,...