Guercino, Venus nursing Cupid, 1610-1620, is one of the 5000 drawings of Foundation Cini, © Fondazione Giorgio Cini

Hôtel de Caumont, in Aix en Provence, is a beautiful small XVIII th century hôtel particulier in the center of town, near place des Quatre Dauphins and cour Mirabeau and, since 2015, it houses exquisite exhibitions: “Treasures of Venice, the Cini collection” is on until March 27. It is always a joy to visit the town off season, when the crowds of the Opera festival are not invading the space. And I was mesmerized by the quality of the Vittorio Cini collection, lent this winter to celebrate the 70 years of the Cini Foundation in Venice and created by the Ferrara born entrepreneur, in memory of his son, Giorgio, who died in a plane crash. It is a rare collection of 4 000 Renaissance paintings, books, sculptures and drawings which you can see in Venice at the Palazzo in Dorsoduro and on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore where the research center is based.

Cosmè Tura, St George, Ca 1475-1480, © Fondazione Giorgio Cini

Collected over fifty years by Vittorio Cini, 1885-1977, ninety paintings are shown here until March 27. Fra Angelico, Jacopo Pontormo, Guercino, Colantonio, Flippo Lippi,  are among the exceptional Renaissance works set with great taste by Hubert Le Gall. The small oil on wood painted by Cosmè Tura of “St George slaying the Dragon” is striking with its dark pink and red colors and the dancing gesture of the soldier.  This artist came from Ferrara like Cini who was a successful industrialist and developed  businesses in road, train and maritime transport. There is a charming Virgin by Ghirlandaio  (1490-1495) and another by Filippo Lippi but the most striking one is certainly Piero della Francesca’s.

Attributed to Piero della Francesca or Luca Signorelli, Virgin and child, 1470-1475, photo : Venezia,
© Fondazione Giorgio Cini

Besides the religious paintings, a section includes portraits and caricatures from the 16 th century with a fascinating double portrait of two friends by Pontormo which used to belong to the Medici. Cini acquired in 1962 a collection of drawings from Professor Giuseppe Fiocco with three works by Tiepolo’s sons. A Fra Angelico representing St Thomas Aquinus is also one of treasures of the show. And a marble sculpture of the “Deploration of Christ” by a Lombardy sculptor is superb. Most works can be traced back to the churches for which they were commissioned or the collectors who acquired them at the time. They are of exceptional quality and to be able to see them from close up is a privilege.

The decor by Hubert le Gall is very refined for a unique collection, here the portrait of two friends by Pontormo

One of my favorite is a Virgin and Child with two angels by Piero di Cosimo, where everyone is smiling and the Christ is even laughing. At the end of the show a dramatic black room shows a series of prisons by  Piranese, prints from the Carceri d’Invenzione series acquired in 1961 par the Foundation. Also a lovely drawing by Francesco Guardi of the San Giorgio Maggiore island is an allusion to the foundation’s headquarters.

After visiting the gift shop on the way out, I walked across the street to a lovely British tea house/bookstore called “Book in Bar” where many young people seem to gather in the afternoon. Aix is a major university town with a well known Law School and it was refreshing to see so many International students in this little street. Fifty meters away, stands the Lycée Mignet, the high school where Darius Milhaud, Paul Cézanne and Emile Zola were students and Marcel Pagnol a teaching assistant!

Piero di Cosimo, Virgin and child with two angles, 1505-1510, © Fondazione Giorgio Cini

So if you have time before the end of March, try to visit Aix en Provence and this magnificent exhibition. You can also go to Musée Granet up the street or wait until May 6 (until September 18) when “Raoul Dufy, l’ivresse de la couleur” will be inaugurated at Hotel de Caumont. From 8 to 24 April, the Easter music festival is taking place in different concert halls and the International Opera festival takes place from July 4 to  July 23.