Located just west of Apt and 50 kilometres from Avignon, Roussillon is one of the designated 'Beautiful Villages' of France.
Roussillon had one of the largest ochre quarries in the world, with over 20 different pigments. This former ochre quarry can be visited via the "Sentier des Ocres" (Ochre Path), where you can take an hour long walk through the old workings.
The pigments were used in prehistoric times and have been found in cave paintings. The clay was used in the making of stucco for the Provençal houses, because it is heat and sun resistant. and it was also mixed with natural oil to create paint.
This was the chambre d'hôtes (bed and breakfast) that we stayed at for a week while we explored the area.
The 1929 economic crisis and the development of synthetic dyes caused the traditional quarrying that had been done with picks and shovels to go into decline.
These rock formations are typically associated with the American Southwest — so this area is referred to as “Colorado Provencal,” despite being just minutes away from Medieval villages and 12th century abbeys.
The red, yellow and brown shades of the earth form a striking contrast with the lush green pinetrees. I was reminded of these old photos by @barbara-orenya and enjoyed seeing this magical site once again. I posted these photos back when we were on Tsu together and I was contacted by an MIT college professor asking permission to use this photo in a text book he was publishing, but I never heard if that ever happened.
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Thanks so much! 😘
Thanks, Pix! ❤️
!BEER
My dear Melinda I love to see your pictures is like go out here in my room. Amazing pictures
Happy to take you traveling to France with me!
That's right take a little trip with you without leaving home. Thank you!💕
It's actually a good way to travel these days! Much more healthy than an airplane flight!
Quarries! It reminds me of Southern Utah, Cedar Breaks, etc. Was there high iron content in the soils?
Yes the soft clays were intermingled with pockets of harder crystalline iron ore, in fairly even horizontal layers,.and I read that kaolinite and goethite were also involved in producing the color.
I understand why this professor would ask for that photo, the color values are perfect, the sky serves as opposite of the ochre of the land, with the greenery addition, it's a really nice scene.
Thanks for sharing Melinda!
Thank you! I can't take credit for the colors. This area is close to where Cezanne and Van Gogh painted. They found the colors first! 😁
I signed papers giving the professor the rights to the photo, but at the time the finished book was still a few years in the future. I never heard if it had been published.
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I'm happy I remembered! 😁
Haha we are happy as well!
liz
I need a bell that goes off anytime that I write the word 'travel'!
That would be awesome 😉
Ha! I have some travel shots gathered up for a post I want to do, and I've been reminding myself to add it to my map! ❤️
The contrast between the rocks and the trees is amazing.
This was back in the days when I took about 6 pictures when I saw something beautiful! If only I could go back there now!
The scenery really outstanding, I enjoyed reading and looking at those pictures, and got some new information, I just realize where the word yellow ochre on my paint tube come from.
I'm sure your paint is made synthetically nowdays, but now you know the history of where it used to come from! "Natural mineral pigments were dug from the earth and shaped into sticks that were used as chalks by artists including da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt" you might find this interesting... https://www.livescience.com/64138-ochre.html
Right, that's very interesting... Thank you for sharing 🙏
Nice Ochre Quarry in Roussillon photography.
What a beautiful place, the intense color of the rocks and the contrast with the blue sky and the vegetation is incredible!
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That was real paint. The colors of nature itself. Thank you for the opportunity to see this :)
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That is beautiful now been left to nature technology always seems to have a way of putting a stop to old methods but if it's got to do with nature we don't mind 😊
It looks so natural. Thanks for sharing @melinda010100
That looks like a fun place to explore, although I think the medieval villages would have drawn my attention. It would be fun to try to use natural pigments in oil painting, but synthetic ones are probably easier to work with and more vibrant.
It would be fun to find out if the professor ever used your photo!
Howdy Melinda! Fantastic photos and scenery! I love these travel photo posts that you do.
Thanks! I am working on another one for tomorrow if I ever find time to complete it 😂