Editor Pick
No Demoiselles d'Avignon - but a Van Gogh d'Arles
The Musée Angladon is well worth a visit whilst in Avignon. This discreet building holds the remains of the art collection of Jacques Doucet, a man who reinvested the profits of his early 20th-century Parisian fashion house in buying works. His purchases were not necessarily 'great'w orks, just works he liked and enjoyed, and as his tastes changed he sold parts of his collection off and reinvested them in new artists. His keen eye and deep pockets served to encourage and support a range of artists in the bohemian Paris art scene, from Degas and Manet to Picasso and Modigliani. It was his descendent Paul Angladon and his wife Paulette Dubrujeaud, artists themselves, who set up this museum in their home town.
Notably, despite his residence in Arles, only one Van Gogh painting remains in Provence - and it is displayed here. 'Railway Cars' shows Vincent's characteristic playing with colours, the carriages blue, yellow and orange against a mint-green sky.
However, a clear trick was missed with regards to Picasso. This collection once housed the Spanish artist's 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon', a shocking. blocky work of naked women with deformed faces. Unfortunately this was sold in 1937, and is now displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. (Incidentally, the 'Avignon' in the title is not a direct reference to the town; instead it refers to a street in Barcelona, notorious for its brothel!). There are other Picassos still on display here. His 'Reverie' in the first room is a disturbing sketch. It depicts a scruffy man, hands stuffed in pockets, looking down angrily at a naked, anonymous woman, her tits and bush and thighs visible, but no face, arms or feet - nothing that would in fact reveal her identity. Is she alive, is she dead? As a penetrating self-portrait, this reveals Picasso as a worrying individual indeed! To the right hangs Modigliani's 'Portrait Of A Woman In A Pink Blouse' - bored-looking, impatient, one of his last works.
The second gallery (where you will find the Van Gogh) has works from many famous names. Aix-le-Provence's Paul Cézanne is represented by a 'Still Life With Pitcher', painted at the house of the famous Doctor Gachet. 'The Rabbit' by Manet is dead and hanging. Some of Degas' ballerina sketches are also displayed. The same theme is seen in Forain's 'Abonnet en Coulisse' / 'Le Foyer de la Danse'. I preferred the small image next to it, 'La Buveuse D'Absinthe' by Felicien Rops, a coquettish evening-gowned girl with elbow-length gloves and a fan being observed by two worthy-looking gentlemen.
One final piece is a lovely Alfred Sisley work: 'Winter Landscape In Louveciennes'. A white path, framed by bare brown bushes and grey trees merging into a grey sky.
Upstairs are reconstructions of the two studios of M. Angladon and Mme.Dubrujeaud. There are also parlours stuffed with objets d'art belonging to the collection.
The collection is not a huge one, and can be reduced solely to the two downstairs galleries if rushed. However, even if not more than thirty works are displayed, they are works of great beauty by a plethora of famous names, tribute to Jacques Doucet's wisdom as a buyer. Notably, the only Van Gogh painting in Provence is displayed here. Entry is €6.00, or €4.00 with an Avignon Passion card.
From journal Sur le Pont d'Avignon