Awakening to Colour on the French Mediterranean

The Arts Society Ashdown Forest

Awakening in Colour on the French Mediterranean

Lecture by Antonia Gatward Cevizli

Thursday 12^th November 2026 at 2.00 pm

Crowborough Community Centre, Pine Grove, Crowborough, TN6 1FE

This lecture complements the Royal Academy exhibition 'Painting the French Riviera' running October 2026- Jan 2027. It explores the impact that the light and colour of the South of France had on the artists that flocked there. Our exploration will extend beyond the riviera across France's Mediterranean coast.  Matisse and Derain's sojourn of 1905 will be a particular focus. The works they painted that summer earned them the epithet 'fauves' or 'wild beasts' for their use of vibrant colours.  Paintings by Monet in Antibes, Signac in St Tropez and Picasso and Klein on the Côte d'Azur will also be explored.