Avignon Museums

Avignon has a lot of museums for a small city.  We were able to hit four of them in one afternoon, thanks to the very walkable distances in the old town and a well-planned route. The Angladon Museum,  housed in an 18th century house, has paintings from the collection of collector Jacques Doucet, including works by Degas, Picasso, Cezanne, and Modigliani's famous Lady in the Pink Blouse below.  There happened to be a special exhibit of photos by Degas, Bonnard and Vuillard when we were there - most unusual as we never think of these artists as photographers.

The staircase in the Angladon

Nice case of Orientalia, including the two in the mirror

Just across the Place from the Angladon, is the Municipal Library housed in a section of the 14th century Ceccano Palace.  I was a little confused as the History Plaque indicated this is a Bibliotheque but the sign on the door says Mediatheque and there are no books to be seen.  I had to ask a lady coming out of another door marked Jeunesse with her young son whether this is indeed the Bibliotheque.  She confirmed that it is indeed the Bibliotheque but that one side is the Mediatheque and the other the Children's library.  For her, that is the library.  

The Calvet Museum is also in an 18th century museum.  See the beautiful entrance and the staircase below.

One of the more memorable works for me is the portrait of his mother by Georges Desvallieres.  He had captured all the loneliness of age in her eyes and expression.

Ah, a break at a cafe for some glace in the afternoon.  Trust the French to serve up even a few Euros' worth of ice cream in style.

The Vauland Museum we visited was disappointing and was remembered more as a break from the afternoon heat than for its contents.  Our last stop was the Petit Palais Museum just beside the Papal Palace.  The collection was housed in the bishop's palace where the first two popes stayed before the Papal Palace was constructed.  It was a rich collection of religious art and there were again many madonnas, not all of them noteworthy but the Botticelli below definitely stood out.

As usual I was distracted by the architecture and here is another spiral staircase.  One of my future posts will include all the spiral staircases I was able to collect on this trip - and there were many.

A panorama of Avignon from the Palace Garden - the Rhone and modern Avignon in the distance

Avignon

Taking the TGV (Train a Grand Vitesse) to Avignon was quite an experience.  No security check, no ticket check, no bureaucratic hassle - it truly lived up to its name.  Avignon was three and a half hours south and 10 degrees warmer.  Our host Francis picked us up at the station and walked us the long way round to the modern apartment in the 17th century house where we would be staying for the next two days.  The detour was to show us the Papal palace, practically our next door neighbour.  I was worried the wheels on our luggage would break on the cobbled streets but they survived.  You see below the house and the street leading up to the Palace.

5 Rue du Gal

The Papal Palace was vast and awesome, particularly when you think of the history of the popes associated with this era of chicanery and intrigue - the stuff of great historical fiction, which came back to me as I drifted through the medieval hallways and secret passages.  There also happened to be an outstanding exhibition of contemporary paintings on bridges in the great chapel.  The French are very supportive of the arts this way - many historical sites have art exhibitions installed, giving the artists a lot of exposure and bringing art to the masses.  But for the architecture photographer, not so great.

Support for the artist was also outside the Palace - musicians rotated through the Place and we were pleasantly surprised by this excellent guitarist playing all our favourites, including the classic Romance.  What a backdrop!

The famous Pont d'Avignon

The local story has it that while the dancing was "Sur le pont" the action was actually all "sous le pont".  Here we found a couple not quite making out, but sitting quietly enjoying the view.

View of the Rhone and that other bridge from the chapel below the bridge

What seems like an affluent residential section of Avignon with walled gardens and courtyards

The lush green wall of Les Halles, the daily market

Inside Les Halles, your choice of spices and shrimps (I have never seen so many varieties).  But when asked, the honest fish lady told me they were previously frozen; so we bought Mediterranean fish instead.  The "loup" was outstanding!

The old town was enclosed by this great wall 

Avignon at sunset - you can still take pictures at 9 pm!

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