Nice and Southern France: Sunny Holiday Destinations: Sunny Holiday Destinations

Author: Isang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-06-01
Features: The Mediterranean basin has historically been a meeting point of European history and culture. Geographically, the northern shore of the Mediterranean is Europe, the eastern shore is Asia (Middle East), and the southern shore is Africa. Eastward, it connects to the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, and westward, it connects to the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar. Culturally, the Middle Eastern region on the eastern shore is the birthplace of the two major religions of the world today—Christianity and Islam. The northern shore of Greece is the cradle of European civilization. Especially during the Roman era, the Roman Empire occupied the entire inland of Europe. Later, it was discovered that controlling the sea was more important. Italy is the center of the Mediterranean both geographically and politically, so the countries along the occupied Mediterranean coast formed a common political and economic region. The ancient Romans called this sea "Mare Mediterraneum," which literally translates to "Sea of the Central Countries" in Latin. In the later period of the Roman Empire, Christianity flourished in the Middle East, advocating equality and friendship among people. This clashed with the state religion of ancient Rome, which worshiped the emperor, so early Christians suffered cruel persecution from the Roman Empire. Some were taken to Rome as slaves, some were executed, and many were exiled to the Mediterranean Sea on ships without sails or oars, drifting with the wind, leaving their fate to the vast sea. Fortunately, with God's guidance, the Christians finally drifted to the northern shore of the Mediterranean, which was then part of Provence in Italy, along the coastline of southern France from Nice to Monaco—this is the beginning of the cultural history of southern France. Therefore, Christianity and Islam started from the same place (the Middle East) but took two different paths of propagation. Christianity spread northward along the Mediterranean coast to various European countries, while Islam spread southward along the Mediterranean coast to various African countries. However, with the passage of time, today when visiting the Blue Coast of France, the most important thing is to experience the European vacation culture. Europeans have two types of vacations: one is to explore famous historical and cultural sites, but more often they go to the seaside or a quiet village for a holiday. Vacation has two meanings: physical relaxation and psychological regulation. With the development of European industrialization and the rise of urban life, people go out early and return late, rarely seeing the sun, working and living in a rhythmic manner, and finally becoming machines with a rhythm. Especially in urban life, far from nature in terms of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, people experience various degrees of alienation physically and psychologically, such as high blood pressure and human allergies becoming national diseases in industrialized countries. Thus, people yearn for a natural life away from society and the city. And isn't the sun, beach, air, and sea of the Mediterranean the very place people dream of?
Surrounding the vacation culture, the Blue Coast of France has concentrated two major cultural waves of reflection on modernization in modern Europe: Romanticism in the 19th century and Impressionism at the beginning of the 20th century. It was the Romantic artists who discovered the coast of France, and it was the Impressionist masters who brought the coast to the center of world art. The coastline from Nice to Monaco is the most vibrant vacation spot in Europe, known as the "Beach of Europe." Even today, people often say that the Blue Coast of southern France is the paradise of the rich. In fact, before the 19th century, vacation was a privilege of the rich or nobility. Today in Europe, vacation has become the ordinary life of every citizen. While the wealthy can stay in five-star hotels, ordinary citizens may stay in three-star hotels or even camp outdoors. But regardless of wealth, everyone shares this same sun, beach, air, and sea—the vacation culture of the Blue Coast of southern France began in the 19th century, precisely during the Romantic period in European literature, art, and music. It was the Romantics who first discovered and fell in love with the sea, as people felt a loss of soul in the wave of the Industrial Revolution and began to trace their roots, longing for the permanent natural life they had lost.
Dear, we sit together, sadly on this small boat. The night is so tranquil, we swim in the water, floating on this vast expanse. The distant, warm, and ghostly little islands are shrouded in misty moonlight, covering the reefs before them. There, the songs of love swirl, and the dance of mist fills the air. There, the melodies of love drift, with the songs rising like the waves of the sea. We silently swim past the island of love, sadly, sadly, swimming toward the vast sea. —Heine (words), Brahms (music): "Sea Voyage" (Op. 96, No. 4, 1884)
England, the birthplace of Romantic culture, saw the rise of the naturalistic English garden during that era. In 1839, Lord Brougham, British Prime Minister, discovered the beauty of the Mediterranean coast and its pleasant climate while traveling through Italy, far from the hustle and bustle of society. After resigning, he settled there, built his villa, and lived there until his death 30 years later. During this time, he wrote to many friends and family, describing the beauty of the Blue Coast of France, sparking the interest of the British, who came to the Gulf of southern France in winter for vacation. In 1858, French poet Conneau, while vacationing on the Blue Coast, wrote to the Empress (Napoleon III's wife) about the beauty and suitability of the Mediterranean coast. This further piqued the interest of the French in the coast, leading the French King, nobles, and others to vacation there, which in turn sparked the interest of other European royal families. The northern shore of the Mediterranean quickly became a resort for European nobles and wealthy elites. As more British and French vacationers came to the coast, the tourism industry began to flourish. Villas and hotels were built everywhere, even casinos for the entertainment of the rich, making it one of the most famous vacation and health resorts in Europe. Unfortunately, this golden age ended during World War I, and the coast became deserted once again, with luxurious hotels unused. Fortunately, a few years later, the "Jazz Age" began in the United States, and Americans came to Europe to seek the natural and cultural landscapes they could not enjoy at home. Thus, the Blue Coast of France was rediscovered. But the aristocratic vacation culture of the coast had now become "jazzified": no longer were there royal families and nobles, but actors, celebrities, and writers. Whiskey replaced champagne, and American Buicks replaced British Rolls-Royces. Especially in 1925, an American writer (a millionaire) broke the traditional custom of Europeans vacationing in winter and chose to vacation in summer, discovering that the coast was even more beautiful in summer. From then on, the Blue Coast of France shifted from a winter vacation destination to a summer vacation destination, changing the vacation culture of the region.
The two most influential thinkers of the 20th century, Marx and Nietzsche, both had a deep connection with Nice and the Blue Coast of France in their later years. Marx, who traveled his whole life, was advised by Engels to go to the Mediterranean coast for vacation. In May 1882, Marx traveled alone through Marseille and Nice to Monte Carlo in Monaco for rest and treatment. He wrote to his daughter, Laura (Eleanor), describing his trip to the French coast: "When I left Ferme, I told him, 'The weather in the south of France will change drastically once I arrive.' As expected, from early January, the people on the coast were still very happy with such a sunny summer day they had never seen before, with only a few complaining about the lack of rain. When I arrived in Marseille on May 4th, it began to rain, and it rained all day or half the day (often at night), the temperature dropped, and the cold wind blew fiercely—I was very proud to be such a 'fate-driven' person!" He wrote to Engels: "I came to Marseille in the rain, and I came to Nice in the rain. When I went to Monte Carlo, I brought the rain there too!" Marx's words, like his fierce nature, were full of power. Unfortunately, nine months later, this "fate-driven" fighter bid farewell to the world in London. Nietzsche, like Marx, had a fierce nature but was a philosopher filled with melancholy and solitude. During the most lonely period of his life—leaving Basel University, wandering along the coast of southern France and northern Italy—the last six winters were spent in a small house in Nice (1883–1888). As soon as he arrived in Nice, he wrote to his friend: "The day before yesterday, I finally decided to stay in Nice, and my life will be connected to this place—I will spend 220 full days here each year. I made this decision because: the brilliant sunlight here is like torture to me, and I often want to endure such torment. The six months of sunlight I have endured here is almost equivalent to the sunlight of the whole year in (Italy) Genoa. For this, I said goodbye to this city (Nice) beloved by Columbus. But finally, I was drawn back by the beautiful October here." During this most lost period of his life, the landscapes of Nice accompanied him to complete some of his most important works, such as "The Anti-Christian," his autobiography "Look, This Man," and his most important philosophical poem "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," marking his third creative peak. But the brilliant sunlight and landscapes of Nice could not hold him—on New Year's Day 1889, in Turin, 160 kilometers from Nice, he saw a groom mistreating a horse, and Nietzsche rushed forward, hugging the horse's neck and crying uncontrollably until he collapsed—Nietzsche had a mental breakdown. With his family's help, he returned to Weimar in Germany.
The post-Impressionist master Van Gogh, in a letter to his friends in mid-July 1888, described an experience: "The day I arrived in (rural France) and discussed with an artist friend. He said, 'Painting here is so boring!' I didn't say anything, I didn't even know what to say to scold this fool! I came here many times, and I had already painted two sketches of this flat land. But what I showed was infinity, eternity. When I was painting, a soldier walked past. I asked him, 'I see this land as beautiful as the sea, don't you find it amazing?' The soldier said, 'Not at all. I even think it's more beautiful than the (Atlantic) Ocean, because here people can still live.' My perspective was closer to this soldier." This is the artistic impulse of a generation of Impressionists (especially Expressionists): under the roar of big machines and the hustle of metropolises, people once again longed for the land and the traditional rural life passed down through generations. In fact, as early as the mid-19th century, Marx had already seen the alienation of humans caused by mass production. In an agricultural society, there was social division of labor but no production division of labor. A farmer went to produce grain and participated in the entire process from sowing to harvesting and sales, so social labor became the path for human development and the cultivation of sound human nature. But in an industrial society, a worker was assigned to process a single part, and he didn't even know what the part was used for—he became just a link in production. Over time, he himself became alienated into a talking part. Marx opposed urbanization, believing it was capitalism's destruction of the natural society. Nietzsche detested the commercialization of society, where people worked blindly and desperately, and the pursuit of wealth through deceitful means became the purpose and means of life. Thus, he opposed modernization, calling it "step by step into decline—the definition of modern 'progress.'" As a result, the "modernists," who opposed modernization, emerged. Paris, as one of the great cities of modern Europe, was once the cradle of various art movements but later became a marketplace for selling art. In the wave of modernization, one by one "modernist" artists fled Paris, seeking natural landscapes and rural areas in the Mediterranean coast and countryside of France, as the south of France had not yet been affected by the Industrial Revolution and still retained the natural environment of an agricultural society. Nice and the Mediterranean coast immediately became the cradle of modernist artists. Renoir and Monet of Impressionism, Cézanne of Post-Impressionism, Van Gogh and Gauguin of Expressionism, and Matisse of Fauvism and Picasso of Cubism—these most important artistic masters of the 20th century all had a deep connection with Nice and the southern region of France. Van Gogh was not a fan of "modernism" but a devout and conservative Christian. In his early years, he worked as a theology teacher in England and later as a missionary in Belgium. His paintings were meant to express his irrepressible religious emotions. To him, art and life were one, and art was a reflection of the soul. Perhaps because of his adherence to tradition, he could best feel the restlessness and horror of modern society. He feared the roar of machines and being in the crowds of metropolises. In February 1888, Van Gogh left Paris, where he had lived for many years, and came to Arles in Provence (influential in modern art, second only to Nice as a famous city in the south of France). He originally planned to stay there for a short time but ended up settling there until his mental breakdown and suicide. He loved the stimulation of the sun in the primitive countryside and the dazzling glare of sunflowers. He saw the south of France as a paradise because it was the hometown of Cézanne and the place where Zola spent his childhood. At that time, the art world of Europe was fascinated by Japanese painting, and they imagined Japan as a land full of natural charm. Van Gogh said that coming to the south of France was like coming to Japan—he wanted to enrich his themes with nature and praise the great nature bestowed upon humanity by God. He carried his easel every day to paint mountains and trees in the fields of Arles and walked to the fishing island near Marseille to paint the sea and sails. During his 15 months in Arles, he created over 200 paintings. In his eyes, Arles had "green rivers and the blue of the sky like the colors of Japanese wood carvings. Under the orange-red sunset, the entire land was filled with blue. The women's clothing was very beautiful, especially on Sundays, the entire city gave the impression of being very innocent and joyful." However, the natural beauty of the south of France could not suppress his inner conflict, and in 1889, Van Gogh's mind broke. In his home in Arles, he picked up a razor and rushed toward Gauguin (another Impressionist master) but missed him, and instead cut off the lower part of his left ear. In the last year of his life in the Saint-Rémy psychiatric hospital, his themes were still the fear of modern society and the plea for God. His most famous oil painting, "The Starry Night"—the upper part is a turbulent sky, and the lower part is a peaceful village surrounding a church—reflects his prayer that "only God could save the sick modern society." Arles was later called "Van Gogh's City."
Cézanne's personality was the opposite of Van Gogh's. Van Gogh admired the free brushwork of Eastern (Japanese) painting, with rough and swift strokes, while Cézanne's painting was very meticulous, sometimes taking 20 minutes to make a single stroke. Although Cézanne's painting became the highest milestone of modern art (Post-Impressionism), he himself never pursued "modern art" but only wanted to step out of the studio and paint a vibrant painting of Poussin (a famous Baroque artist) under the open sky. When he was in Paris, he was one of the earliest followers of Impressionism but later parted ways with it. In his view, Impressionism only depicted superficial and shallow impressions of light, failing to reflect the essence and depth of nature. This depth could only be explored by returning to nature and expressing it through color. He left Paris, where he had been for many years, and returned to his childhood hometown alone—the south of France, Aix (30 kilometers north of Marseille). Mistral (the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1904) called the south of France the "Empire of the Sun," and Van Gogh was obsessed with this sun until he became crazy. The Impressionist masters living in Paris only felt the sun of the metropolis, or even just a little light in their small studios—how could they experience the true sunlight of nature? Cézanne was deeply devoted to the Sainte-Victoire mountain near Aix, a mountain he painted over 60 times. He broke away from the traditional Western painting perspective and adopted a similar scattered perspective to the Chinese painting, layer by layer, to depict the veins of the mountain. In his view, the single-point perspective actually placed the painter's own viewpoint in the picture, depicting the mountain as the painter saw it. In reality, what the viewer saw was only the surface of the mountain, and the artist had to use lines and colors to express the essence and spirit of the mountain. Cézanne also visited the coast of southern France many times to feel the changes in the colors of the sea and coast under the sun. He wrote to Pissarro near Marseille, "The sun here is so strong that I found that the edges of objects under the sun were not simply white or black but blue, red, brown, and purple. These color sensations are completely opposite to what we imagined before." The "Empire of the Sun" along the coast and countryside of the south of France gave birth to this artist of epoch-making significance in the history of art.
In addition to the works of Expressionist artists like Munch, K?the Kollwitz, and Rodin, which still largely reflected the social reality of the time, most modern artists were spiritually immersed in a utopian world, creating the "last happy time in Europe." From Monet's "Impression," "Woman with an Umbrella," and "Water Lilies," one would never imagine that he had once been on the brink of suicide at the age of 28; Gauguin went to Tahiti in the Pacific to seek the lost paradise of humanity, who could have imagined that upon his return, he was destitute and said, "If I cannot change my fate, I will end my own life." Van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime (for 400 francs), and when he was living in Arles, he wrote to his friend, "Unfortunately, life here isn't as cheap as I imagined. I used to spend 5 francs a day, now 4." Matisse of Fauvism was not as destitute as Van Gogh but clearly not as wealthy as Cézanne, the son of a banker. In 1904, he went with the Neo-Impressionist painter Paul Signac to Saint-Tropez between Nice and Marseille, a place with the same brilliant Mediterranean sunlight as his pursuit—but the living expenses were lower because Saint-Tropez was still an unspoiled coastal village (it still has about 7,000 residents). There, he sought the comfort of the sea and sun and explored the meaning of natural colors. It was there that he began to doubt the artistry of Neo-Impressionism, believing that they only focused on the effect of light, separating light purely physically or even mechanically, lacking the refinement of color. Matisse also pursued the contrast of hue, tone, color block, and chroma in the painting, using mostly the three primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—but sought harmony within the contrast. His oil painting "Luxury, Calm, and Passion" (Lux, Calme, Volupté) appeared to still have the pointillism of Neo-Impressionism, but the points were larger and sparser, with obvious contrast, passionate color, and clear, simplified figures of people by the sea—this was the beginning of Matisse's farewell to Neo-Impressionism and the creation of a new artistic style, which was named "Fauvism" at the autumn salon the following year. After that, he frequently traveled between the coast of the south of France (for painting) and Paris (for exhibitions) and finally settled in Nice in 1918 until his death in 1954. In 1963, the "Matisse Museum" was opened in Nice, exhibiting not only his paintings but also most of his sculptures. The Blue Coast of southern France propelled Matisse to the position of one of the most outstanding artists of the 20th century.
The sea sometimes surges like Marx's passion, sometimes is lonely like Nietzsche's melancholy, sometimes is brilliant like Matisse's painting, and sometimes is restless like Van Gogh's soul. Greeting you, eternal sea, your waves are the voice of my homeland, your ripples are like the dreams of my childhood—Heine: "Song of the Sea"
Countless white clouds are surging in the sky, ah! What a magnificent scene of the Arctic Ocean! The infinite Pacific is using all its strength to push the earth over. Ah! The rolling waves are coming before my eyes! Ah! Continuous destruction, continuous creation, continuous effort! —Guo Moruo: "Standing on the Earth's Edge"
How many sailors, how many captains embarked on the voyage but never returned beyond the gloomy horizon. They disappeared, their sorrowful fate sleeping in the bottomless sea, on this moonless night—Victor Hugo: "Night of the Sea"
The three poets all faced the sea, but they echoed different melodies. Heine was filled with the romance of "Loire," Guo Moruo was filled with the passion of "Goddess," but in the end, they returned to Victor Hugo's "" sentiment. This is life, this is humanity. "Of all things in the world, nothing is more pitiful than humans," this was the revelation of Homer's epic "Iliad" 2,000 years ago. Feuerbach's theory of alienation was born from seeing people in Europe for millennia had been tamed into slaves of Christianity. Soon after, Marx proposed a new theory of alienation, discovering that people had not completely broken free from the chains of religion but had become slaves of the commodity economy and big machines... God created humans freely, humans are free, but (in reality), humans are born into chains! This was the famous saying of the poet Schiller over 200 years ago.
Step out of the noisy city, walk toward the Blue Coast: wash away humanity's social nature, return to humanity's natural nature. This is the oldest and most modern lifestyle people by the sun, sand of the south of France, only nature can return and sublimate human life. Nice, the dazzling pearl of the Mediterranean, flowers bloom, the sun shines. The globally renowned international film city of Cannes makes visitors see the stars at first glance. The sun-drenched south of France has the majesty of mountains and the gentleness of the sea, and everywhere are the traces of artists. This book is rich in content and beautiful in pictures, showing the natural scenery and artistic traces of cities and attractions in places like Provence and the Blue Coast of France to Chinese tourists, guiding them on a tour of the sunny vacation destination!