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Origin and history

The Château de Vauvenargues is a Provençal bastide built in the 13th century, with towering walls and a fortified enclosure added in the 14th century. Redesigned in the 16th and 17th centuries, it combines medieval architecture and Renaissance. Located at Vauvenargues, at the foot of the Sainte-Victoire mountain, it initially depended on the Counts of Provence before passing to the Archbishops of Aix in 1257, then to noble families such as the Séguiran or the Clapiers, including the Marquis Luc de Vauvenargues, figure of the Enlightenment.

In the 18th century, King Louis XV erected the seigneury as a marquisate to reward Joseph de Clapiers, consul of Aix, for his role during the plague of Marseilles (1720). After the Revolution, the castle changed hands several times, becoming even a holiday colony before being acquired in 1958 by Pablo Picasso. The artist, fascinated by Cézanne and Sainte-Victoire, set up his studio and his art collection (Cézanne, Matisse, Degas...), and was buried there in 1973 with his wife Jacqueline.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1929 for its architecture and interior decoration of the eighteenth century, the castle remains a private property closed to the public. Its history lies medieval heritage, Provencal nobility and modern artistic heritage, embodied by Picasso. The Sainte-Victoire mountain, a source of inspiration for Cézanne then Picasso, makes it an emblematic place of art and history of Provence.

The origins of the castle date back to a Roman castrum, replaced by a medieval fortress in the 13th century. The family of Clapiers, notably Henri (17th century), modernises the castle after a military career. The Marquisat was sold in 1790 to the Isoard family, close to Napoleon I, before knowing various owners in the 20th century, including a maritime association. Picasso sees a "Provencal Escurial" and plans to paint frescoes inspired by Piero della Francesca.

Today, the castle belongs to Catherine Hutin-Blay, daughter of Jacqueline Picasso. Although not visitable, he retained his furniture and period decors, as well as Picasso's works and souvenirs. The site, compared to the Spanish Escurial, symbolizes the dialogue between medieval history, nobility of Ancien Régime and artistic avant-garde, in a natural setting marked by the Sainte-Victoire, muse of Cézanne and Picasso.

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