French Riviera and Its Artists: Art, Literature, Love, and Life on the Côte d'Azur

John Baxter

Museyon, Jul 1, 2015 - Travel - 280 pages

Get swept up in the glitz and glamour of the French Riviera as author and filmmaker John Baxter takes readers on a whirlwind tour through the star-studded cultural history of the Côte d'Azur that's sure to delight travelers, Francophiles, and culture lovers alike.   Readers will discover the dramatic lives of the legendary artists, writers, actors, and politicians who frequented the world's most luxurious resort during its golden age. In 25 vivid chapters, Baxter introduces the iconic figures indelibly linked to the South of France—artist Henri Matisse, who lived in Nice for much of his life; F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose Riviera hosts inspired his controversial Tender is the Night; Coco Chanel, who made the Saint-Tropez tan an international fashion statement; and many more.  Along the way, Baxter takes readers where few people ever get to go: the alluring world of the perfume industry, into the cars and casinos of Monte Carlo, behind-the-scenes at the Cannes Film Festival, to the villa where Picasso and Cocteau smoked opium, and to the hotel where Joseph Kennedy had an affair with Marlene Dietrich. Then maps and listings show travelers how these luminaries celebrated life and made art amid paradise.

Contents

• Maps: 6
• Timeline: 8
• Intro The SkyBlue Coast: 10
• The Rational Eye of Paul Cézanne: 24
• Naked Among the Olives: 34
• The Brush and the Blades: 42
• DH Lawrence and the Literary Invalids: 54
• A Life of Love and Lies: 68
• The Blue Train: 78
• The Inventor of Everything: 90
• Ballet on the Riviera: 100
• The Hôtel du Cap and Tender is the Night: 114
• Cement Celluloid and Surrealism: 124
• Always Afternoon: 134
• Somerset and all the Maughams: 144
• In a Season of Calm Weather: 156
• Jean Cocteau and the Villa SantoSospir: 168
• An Angel in His Head: 178
• The Rise and Further Rise of Brigitte Bardot: 190
• The Dangerous Edge: 202
• A Sunny Place for Shady People: 212
• Crime in the Sun: 224
• The Victorine Studios: 234
• The Cannes Film Festival: 246
• Art Gallery: 259
• List of Sites: 270
• Index: 272
• About the Author: 280

About the author

John Baxter is an Australian writer, journalist, and filmmaker. He is the author of Chronicles of Old Paris, The Golden Moments of Paris, Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas, The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris, and We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light.

Bibliographic information

• Title: French Riviera and Its Artists: Art, Literature, Love, and Life on the Côte d'Azur
• Author: John Baxter
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Museyon, 2015
• ISBN: 1940842050, 9781940842059
• Length: 280 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Artists, Architects, Photographers; Travel / Europe / France