A. G. CARRICK / H.M KING CHARLES III former PRINCE OF WALES (bn.1948)
Mont Ventoux (1,911 m - 6, 270 ft)
France (Provence)
In Mont Ventoux seen from Le Barroux, watercolor, 1999
The painter
Arthur George Carrick is actually H.M. the King Charles III, former Prince of Wales.
When he began
showing his paintings, he was too nervous to display his name so
displayed under a pseudonym. Arthur George are two of his names (Charles
Phillip Arthur George) and one of his titles is Earl of Carrick. King
Charles III is an experienced watercolourist. He has been painting for
most of his adult life, during holidays or when his official diary
allows. King
Charles' interest began during the 1970s and 1980s when he was inspired
by Robert Waddell, who had been his art master at Gordonstoun in
Scotland. In time, King Charles met leading artists such as Edward
Seago, with whom he discussed watercolour technique, and received
further tuition from John Ward, Bryan Organ and Derek Hill.
The
Royal Family has a tradition of drawing and painting, and King Charles’
work first came to public notice at a 1977 exhibition at Windsor
Castle at which other Royal artists included Queen Victoria, The Duke
of Edinburgh and The Duke of York.
King Charles paints in the open
air, often finishing a picture in one go and his favourite locations
include The Queen's estate at Balmoral in Scotland and Sandringham House
in Norfolk, England. Sometimes King Charles III paints during his
skiing holidays, and during overseas tours when possible.
The
copyright of King Charles' watercolours belongs to A. G. Carrick Ltd, a
trading arm of The King's Charities Foundation. Over the years King Charles III has
agreed to exhibitions of his watercolours and of lithographs made from
them, on the understanding that any income they generate goes to The
Prince of Wales's Charitable Foundation.
Money from the sale of the lithographs also goes to the Foundation but the paintings themselves are never for sale.
In the 1980s King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, began inviting young British artists to
accompany him on official tours overseas and record their impressions, a
tradition that has continued to this day.
Reference :
- The prince of Wales paintings
The mountain
Mont Ventoux (Ventor in Latin) is located in the French department of Vaucluse (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur). Culminating at 1,911 meters - 6, 270 ft, it is about 25 kilometers long on an east-west for 15 kilometers wide on a north-south axis. Nicknamed the Giant of Provence, it is the culmination of the Monts du Vaucluse, the ultimate link of the Southern Alps and the highest peak of Vaucluse. Its geographical isolation makes it visible over great distances.
Mont Ventoux is as well the linguistic border between the north and south-Occitan.
Its mainly calcareous nature is responsible, in its top part, its deep white color in every season and intense karstification due to erosion by water, with the presence of numerous scree on the south face. Precipitation is particularly abundant in spring and fall. Rainwater seeps into galleries and reflects the level of the variable flow resurgences such as Fontaine de Vaucluse or Source du Groseau.
Mont Ventoux is subject to a Mediterranean dominant weather, sometimes causing scorching temperatures during summer, the altitude offering a wide variety of climates, to the top (continental influence of mountain type), through a temperate climate (mid-slopes). In addition, the north wind can be very violent and the Mistral blows almost half part of the year.
This particular geomorphology and climate make it a rich and fragile environmental site consisting of many levels of vegetation. It is s a biosphere reserve by UNESCO and Natura 2000 site.
If human settlements are found in the foothills in prehistoric times, the first ascent to the summit would work on 26 April 1336, the poet Petrarch from Malaucène on the northern slope. It opens the way later in numerous scientific studies.
Thereafter, for nearly six centuries, Mont Ventoux has been intensely deforested to provide the shipbuilding in Toulon, charcoal manufacturers and sheep farmers. During World War II, the mountain is home to the Ventoux maquis, the french Resistance against Nazis.
Since 1966, the summit is topped with an observation tower over forty meters high topped by a TV and satellite antenna.
While sheep farming has almost disappeared, beekeeping, gardening (especially cherries), viticulture, harvesting of mushrooms including truffles and, to a lesser extent, lavender, are still practiced.
Mont Ventoux is an important symbolic figure of Provence that fed oral or literary works and artistic performances or pictorial map.
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2020 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau
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