Guides: Alumni Travel Reading: Southern France: Languedoc & Provence

A Land of Art

Van Gogh: "Starry Night" (Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. June 1889) [F612], by Mia Feigelson

Van Gogh by Steven Naifeh; Gregory White Smith
Call Number: N6953.G63 N35 2011
ISBN: 9780375507489
Publication Date: 2011
Van Gogh is heralded as one of the most prominent and visionary artists in history, producing many of his most famous works, including Starry Night, Irises, and Cafe Terrace at Night, in his eventual home of Provence, France. Enthusiasts and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors, Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, have taken on the task of uncovering the tumultuous life of Vincent Van Gogh, taking readers through a deeply personal world not yet discovered.
French Riviera and Its Artists: Art, Literature, Love, and Life on the Côte d'Azur by John Baxter
ISBN: 9781940842059
Publication Date: 2015
Known as one of the most luxurious spots world-wide, the French Riviera drew in a wealth of artists, authors, and film-stars, each of whom looked to the riviera for the ultimate experience in luxury and inspiration. John Baxter, a filmmaker and author, takes readers on an exciting journey through the golden age of Côte d’Azur culture.
The Masterpiece by Émile Zola; Thomas Walton (Translator); Roger Pearson (Revised by)
Call Number: PQ2511.O4 E5 1999
ISBN: 9780199536917
Publication Date: 2008
For an in-depth, intimate--albeit idiosyncratic--look into the world of nineteenth-century French Impressionist painters, nothing is better than Zola’s tale of Claude Lanier, a fictional artist imaginatively drawn from the lives and works of Paul Cézanne, Edouard Manet, and Claude Monet. Cézanne and Zola were schoolboys in Aix-en-Provence , but their friendship did not survive the serialization (1885-1886) and subsequent book publication (1886) of Zola’s novel. Warning: the work suits an avid reader best, coming in at 464 pages in the Oxford edition.

Portrait of an Artist

Toulouse-Lautrec: The Full Story. Channel Four (Great Britain), 2006. Run time: 120 minutes.

Art critic Waldemar Januszczak presents an in-depth biography of the controversial French painter. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s life encompassed aristocracy, obsession, and alcoholic and sexual excess. He is also responsible for a huge body of work, revolutionary in blurring the boundaries between high and low art. A century after his death, Januszczak argues that the artist remains the perennial outsider, undervalued by art historians.

View a preview below:

French Riviera

Rita Crane Photography: Twilight in Old Town Menton, French Riviera, by Rita Crane

Southern France: Languedoc to Provence

Valensole (Provence - France), by Jorge Sanmartín Maïssa

Bibliographer

Selected and Annotated By:

Nancy Shawcross

Bibliographer for French and Francophone Language and Literature (retired)

shawcros@pobox.upenn.edu

Alixandra Boucher
Collections Assistant

David McKnight
Bibliographer for French and Francophone Language and Literature

For more information about this and other excursions, visit the Penn Alumni Travel webpage.

The Unexpected Math Behind Van Gogh's "Starry Night"

Take a look at this thought-provoking TED-Ed talk from 2014 presented by Natalya St. Clair, in which the mathematically fluidity behind Van Gogh's Starry Night is explained.

For more information, visit TED-Ed's Youtube channel.

History and Architecture

Château de La Cité, by Javier Medina

Napoleon by Andrew Roberts
Call Number: DC203 .R6825 2014
ISBN: 9780670025329
Publication Date: 2014
An intimate look at the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the most powerful and paramount leaders in French history. This work combines personal letters written by Napoleon himself, as well as accounts of the battle sites and significant landmarks to help further uncover unforeseen emotions and thoughts of France's supreme commander.
Architecture in France 1800-1900 by Bertrand Lemoine; Alexandra Bonfante-Warren (Translator)
ISBN: 9780810940901
Publication Date: 1998
A detailed look at the wonders and creation of French architecture in the 19th century.
A Distant Mirror by Barbara W. Tuchman
Call Number: DC97.5 .T82 1978
ISBN: 9780345349576
Publication Date: 1987
Among the plethora of medieval history books, nothing offers a more moving and dramatic read than A Distant Mirror. First published in 1978, Tuchman’s chronicle offers a vivid presentation of a century of conflict and change, including the Hundred Years’ War, the Black Plague, antisemitism, the Papal Schism that divided Europe into two camps—Rome or Avignon--and much more. The narrative centers around a French nobleman, Enguerrand de Coucy (1340-1397), who married the eldest daughter of Edward III of England. In 1980 the book won the U.S. National Book Award in History.

Purchase this book from Amazon or borrow it from your local library.

Travel and Culture

Pyrenees, by stevemonty

AU Contraire! by Gilles Asselin; Ruth Mastron
ISBN: 9781931930925
Publication Date: 2010
A must-read guide for any visitors to the nation. Authors Gilles Asselin and Ruth Mastron stitch together examples from historical and modern day society, weaving through the various attitudes, language, and customs of the French community.
A Brief History of France by Cecil Jenkins
ISBN: 9780762441204
Publication Date: 2011
Another guide to the French nation through a more historical lens. This account of France discusses how the country came to be, formed by events, leaders, and cultural influences which have become staples of French society.
Rick Steves' Provence and the French Riviera by Rick Steves; Steve Smith
ISBN: 9781612387642
Publication Date: 2013
A detailed tour guide written specifically for travelers to Southern France, including exploration of the alluring beauty of Provence and the French Riviera.
French Dirt by Richard Goodman
Call Number: SB320.8.F7 G66 1991
ISBN: 0945575661
Publication Date: 1991
A novel of a man's journey from New York City to Southern France, where he spends a year amongst a small village community and develops an immense appreciation for the land on which he resides.
Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong by Jean-Benoit Nadeau; Julie Barlow
Call Number: DC34 .N33 2003
ISBN: 9781402200458
Publication Date: 2003
Despite its satirical title, this work explores the nuances of French stereotypes using examples from history and modern culture to uncover the origin of some of our most perverse opinions.

France in the Second World War

Band of Brothers. HBO Home Video, 2002. 10 episodes. Running time: 705 minutes.

The HBO miniseries is universally acclaimed as the best film representation of D-Day. It is based on two books by Stephen E. Ambrose: Band of Brothers (1992) and D-Day (1994), which take a personal approach to the historic event by focusing on the viewpoints of individual soldiers in World War II. Directed by David Frankel as well as by Tom Hanks, the series stars Damian Lewis (currently seen on Homeland), Ron Livingston (currently seen on Boardwalk Empire), and Donnie Wahlberg (currently seen on Blue Bloods), among others.

View the trailer below: