Ochre - The Color of Provence

Perspectives from The Artist's Road

A Christmas present of the fascinating book, Color: A Natural History of the Palette, by Victoria Finlay, started us reminiscing about our workshop trips to the ochre-colored Provencal village of Roussillon. Each chapter of the book discusses a single, ancient color and explores its origins, practical and ceremonial uses, chemistry, and so on. While Finlay mentions in passing, the ochre mines in the Luberon region of France, she focused most of her attention on the story of ochre use by the aboriginal tribes of Australia. The mines near Roussillon, in the Apt valley (Vaucluse) were actually among the largest ochre mines in the world, and while only one is still producing today, the brightly painted village is a living, joyful exposition on the palette produced by the mineral. At sunrise and sunset, Roussillon literally glows in harmony with the light show in the sky, while contrasting dramatically with the pine-covered hills of the surrounding countryside. For our France workshops, we…