L’Estaque is a former fishing village, located on the Rade de Marseille, which was incorporated in 1946 as part of the 16th Arrondissements to Marseille. West of L’Estaque begins the Côte Bleue. The hill chain Chaîne de l’Estaque gave the place its name.
A bit of this former artists’ village or its past is still noticeable today: the inhabitants differ from the other Marseillais and make no secret of the fact that they don’t feel comfortable with the city, which is about 30 minutes away by bus (Line 35 – from La Joliette, past the new port, from where the big ferries go to Corsica and Africa).
In the 1990s, Robert Guédiguian brought L’Estaque into the limelight with his film Marius and Jeannette. Guédiguian is a native, with Armenian father and German mother. His film shows according to the French film conversational-entertaining and high level today’s everyday life of the so-called little people of L’Estaque, located in the microcosm of the environment of this typical for L’Estaque, nested little houses. His film shows for the French-film typical conversational-entertaining and and on a high level today’s everyday life of the so-called little people of L’Estaque, within the microcosm of the environment of the typical for L’Estaque, nested little houses.
Many artists of the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist periods visited or resided there or in the surrounding area. Many of them painted village scenes, the road leading to the village, and the view of the Bay from the village. Paul Cézanne painted many views of the water from his room in L’Estaque, showing the changing seasons, the shifting light of day, and the changes in the village itself over time. Georges Braque‘s painting of 1908, Houses at l’Estaque, first evoked the concept of cubism.
In February 2010 a Fondation Monticelli was set up at L’Estaque. It exhibits some of pre-impressionist painter Adolphe Monticelli‘s most representative artwork, together with paintings from other Maîtres provençaux such as Jean-Baptiste Olive. The foundation’s location features one of the most eye-catching views of the bay of Marseille.
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