Montagne Sainte-Victoire

{{Short description|Mountain range in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France}} {{Expand French|topic=geo|date=December 2023}} {{refimprove|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Montagne Sainte-Victoire | image = Montagne_Sainte-Victoire_(versant_sud).jpg | image_caption = Montagne Sainte-Victoire and [[Cross of Provence|Croix de Provence]] on the left side | elevation_m = 1011 | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = | prominence_ref = | listing = | range = Sainte-Victoire Massif | location = [[Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur]], [[France]] | map = France | range_coordinates = | label_position = left | map_caption = France | coordinates = {{coord|43|32|21|N|5|38|43|E|type:mountain_region:FR_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coordinates_ref =  | topo = | type = | first_ascent = | easiest_route = }}

[[File:Carte Sainte Victoire.svg|thumbnail|Map of Sainte-Victoire]] '''Montagne Sainte-Victoire''' ([[Provençal dialect|Provençal]] {{langx|oc|Venturi / Santa Venturi}} according to [[Occitan language#Writing system|classical orthography]] and {{langx|oc|Ventùri / Santo Ventùri|label=none}} according to [[Occitan language#Writing system|Mistralian orthography]]) is a [[limestone]] mountain ridge in the south of [[France]] which extends over {{convert|18|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} between the [[Départements of France|départements]] of [[Bouches-du-Rhône]] and [[Var (département)|Var]]. Its highest point is the ''Pic des mouches'' at {{convert|1011|m|ft|0}}; this is not however the highest point in Bouches-du-Rhône, which is instead found in the [[Sainte-Baume]] massif. The ''[[Cross of Provence|Croix de Provence]]'' is a notable feature of the mountain. At a height of 19 metres, this cross, although not placed at the highest point of the mountain, stands out from the ridge far more than the Pic des Mouches.

The mountain is celebrated for its many appearances in [[Mont Sainte-Victoire (Cézanne)|a series of paintings]] by [[Paul Cézanne]] (1839–1906), who could see it from near his house in nearby Aix-en-Provence.<ref>{{cite web |last=White |first=Katie|title=Cézanne Painted Mont Sainte-Victoire Dozens of Times|url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/cezanne-mont-sainte-victoire-1937995 | magazine=artnet news|date=2021-01-19}}</ref>

==History and tourism==

Originally called ''montagne de la Victoire'', the mountain became known by [[Christians]] in the [[Middle Ages]] as ''Sainte-Venture''. In the 13th century, a [[chapel]] was constructed at the summit. It was not until the 17th century that the mountain gained its current name. {{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

In 1989 a fire ravaged over 50 square kilometres of the mountain's south face. Much work has been done to promote [[reforestation]], but the amount of vegetation, particularly [[conifers]], remains much less than it was prior to the fire. Access to the mountain is now largely restricted during the summer.<ref>{{cite web |author= |title=Montagne Sainte-Victoire, Provence |url=https://frenchmoments.eu/montagne-sainte-victoire-provence/}}</ref>

However, during the periods of free access, the Saint-Victoire massif is a popular destination for [[hiking]], [[climbing]], [[paragliding]] and, to a lesser extent, [[caving]]. Around 700,000 walkers use its paths every year.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

==Artists==

[[File:Paul Cézanne - Mont Sainte-Victoire (La Montagne Sainte-Victoire) - BF13 - Barnes Foundation.jpg|thumb|left|330px|''[[Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley]]'', Paul Cézanne 1882-5]] In addition to [[Paul Cézanne|Cézanne]], Montagne Saint-Victoire has been a source of inspiration for other artists, for example:

* It makes an appearance in the 1454 painting ''Coronation of the Virgin'' by [[Enguerrand Quarton]]. * The painter [[Pablo Picasso]], who bought the [[Château de Vauvenargues]], situated at the foot of the mountain, and installed a studio there between 1959 and 1962{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} * The painter [[Wassily Kandinsky]] * The painter André Masson (1896-1987) in ''The Red Lands and the Montagne Sainte Victoire'', 1948 (Les Terres rouges et la Montagne Ste Victoire) * The writer [[Peter Handke]] with ''The Lesson of Sainte-Victoire'' (1980) * The writer [[Guy Gavriel Kay]] with ''[[Ysabel]]'' (2007) * The version by painter [[Mark Tansey]] (1987), "the soldiers of poststructuralism and deconstruction---Jean Baudrillard (seated second from left), Barthes (recumbent, lighting a cigarette), and Derrida (standing, removing his overcoat)---disrobe in the shadow of Cézanne's mountain. Shedding their uniforms, they are transformed in their reflections into women. The men on the shore (at left) are flanked by the arching trees of Cézanne's 1906 ''Bathers''. All appear engulfed in the mucky depths of Plato's cave. Aided by Derrida's 1978 book ''Spurs: Nietzsche's Styles'', Tansey explores the nature of representation through the study of transformation." These are..."optimistically suggestive of the possibilities other than those suggested by Greenberg and his cohorts."{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons}} * {{in lang|fr}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20050211072332/http://grandsitesaintevictoire.com/ Official site] * {{in lang|fr|it|de|en}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20140112144709/http://en.aixenprovencetourism.com/aix-sainte-victoire.htm "Mont Sainte-Victoire," Aix en Provence Office of Tourism] * [http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x558452_video-360-4k-en-paramoteur-au-dessus-de-la-sainte-victoire-aix-en-provence-paramotor-video-mountain_sport 360° video of the Mount Sainte Victoire]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainte-Victoire}} [[Category:Mountains of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur]] [[Category:Landforms of Bouches-du-Rhône]] [[Category:Landforms of Var (department)]] [[Category:Mountains of the Alps]]