A Curated Travel Guide to the South of France for Art Lovers by Satomi Takayama
Approx. 70 pages · Original photographs and illustrations · Digital PDF edition
Overview:
Why did the South of France draw so many Impressionists and modern masters — and inspire some of the world’s most beloved paintings?
The South of France is where many of them found their own light.
Matisse arrived in Nice, saw a single day of winter sunshine, and made the region his home. Van Gogh found a fiercer language of colour in the South, creating some of his greatest works while living in an asylum. Cézanne painted the same mountain again and again until his way of seeing helped open the door to Cubism, while Picasso reinvented himself through ceramics near Cannes.
This book offers a way into the places where that art was born, through the landscapes, histories and stories that remain there today.
It is also a personal record of two months spent travelling through the South of France: what I researched, where I went, and what I thought and felt along the way.
I’m Satomi Takayama, a Japanese artist based between Japan and London.
Living under London’s grey skies for years, I found myself drawn again and again to paintings filled with vivid light and colour. I often wondered about that light — the light that had drawn so many Impressionists and modern masters south and shaped their work.
I left my full-time job in London to see it for myself. With a one-way ticket, I spent two months travelling through twelve towns across the South of France.
Rather than rushing from one sight to the next, I sometimes stayed in a single town for weeks, trying to live there rather than simply pass through. As well as visiting museums and places connected to artists, I walked the streets, looked closely at the architecture, learnt about the local history and tried, slowly, to understand what had shaped each place.
Travel is not only about ticking destinations off a list.
When you slow down and pay attention to a place — its rhythms, its culture and the stories it carries — the view in front of you begins to look a little different.
This book is for anyone who loves Impressionism and modern art, but also for those who want some distance from the pace of everyday life or are looking for a different way to travel.
What’s Inside
Seven art routes — Following the artists’ footsteps through the Riviera Matisse loved, Cézanne’s hometown, Picasso’s ceramic town, the South of France that shaped Van Gogh and more
Twelve towns and places I visited — Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Nice, Antibes, Aix-en-Provence, Mougins, Èze, Arles, Cannes and Le Cannet, Vallauris, Collioure, Menton and Monaco
Places that inspired me in each town — A curated list of museums, places connected to artists, galleries, architectural sites and antique markets that I visited during my time there
The stories behind the art — Historical context and lesser-known stories of how artists lived, worked and found inspiration in these places
Memories from each place — Short personal notes on the moments, chance encounters and feelings that stayed with me along the way
A philosophy of travel — My own approach to walking slowly, observing closely and travelling with curiosity
The South of France through the seasons — A guide to how the light, colour, atmosphere and rhythm of the region shift throughout the year, helping you consider what kind of experience you want before deciding when to go
Original photographs and illustrations — Photographs taken during my two months there, alongside my original illustrations of the South of France
For anyone who wants to return with more than photographs: a deeper understanding of place, and perhaps a different way of seeing.
