 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
A STROLL AROUND LE VIEUX PORT
A better quality version of the whole route is available by clicking the link here.
Now turn round and walk towards the high-rise tower in the distance with the roadway on your right and in a few steps the imposing façade of the Cathédrale de la Major will come into view offering a complete contrast to the uncompromisingly modern buildings of MuCEM and Villa Méditerranée on the left. The low level building across the road on the right is the Musée Regards de Provence – a definite ‘must-see’ at some point – which houses an impressive collection of Provençal paintings and also hosts temporary exhibitions of considerable merit. The museum is housed in the restored sanitary station, the facility through which immigrants to the city had to pass in an attempt to control the spread of infectious diseases. A worthwhile couple of hours can be spent here and the views from the excellent café are a bonus. It is a testament to the recent rejuvination of this area that a building which was completely derelict has now been transformed into an art venue of international significance.
Please refer to better quality map of the whole route.
Please refer to better quality map of the whole route.
We are going to complete this illustrated tour around the Old Port with a visit to the Jardin du Pharo which involves more walking along this busy road but is rewarded by fabulous views of both the inner harbour and also out to the Bay of Marseille. Stay on the footpath by the water’s edge and continue, passing the Square L. Audibert on the left with distinctive buildings of Abbaye Saint-Victor beyond. You will now come to a fairly complicated and busy arrangement of roads which have to be negotiated using pedestrian crossings but basically you carry straight on with the military buildings of Bas Fort Saint-Nicolas on the right and Fort d’Entrecasteaux on the left. Pass the large hotel on the right and you will soon come to the entrance to the Jardin du Pharo.
| |||||
The walk starts at the end of the Quai du Port by Fort Saint Jean and in particular by the memorial to those who perished in Nazi death camps during the Second World War. Not a very cheerful reminder of darker days but by standing here with Notre Dame de la Garde positioned slightly to the right of the fortification walls and the main road curving round to the right, you are in the approximate place where Verdilhan positioned himself to paint Port de Marseille (Canal Saint-Jean), 1920 (1). The scene is now completely transformed with the Canal Saint-Jean filled in and replaced by the busy highway. The painting is in his characteristic simplified linear style but it is still possible to identify the Transbordeur Bridge, another casualty of the war of which not a trace now remains. This controversial piece of engineering was opened in 1905 to provide a link across the port but the German occupying forces destroyed it in 1944 to block the harbour. The same purpose is now served by a road tunnel. Overhead you can see the pedestrian walkway which links the area by the Église Saint-Laurent to Fort Saint-Jean and which is an alternative entrance to the MuCEM complex.
To continue the walk head towards the cathedral and the Place de la Major and on the right hand side you will see the local Marie building. Take a moment to turn round and look at the impressive mural decorating the end wall of an apartment block showing a rather exotic scene from the city’s maritime past. As you start to explore the back streets of the historic Panier district you will find that ‘street-art’ of a different sort has now become a feature in the city - spraycan graffiti! Although some of this is not without merit and certainly most is vibrant in colour, it is more doubtful whether it will stand the test of time with regard to making a positive addition to the visual landscape. Now follow the road round to the right and continue into Rue Four du Chapitre. Cross over Rue de l’Eveché into Rue des Repenties and the ascend the steps in front of you. Pass the derelict site on the left and turn right along Traverse de la Madelaine and where this joins another narrow road you have reached the point where Wadsworth must have positioned himself to paint Rue Fontaine de Caylus, Marseilles, 1924 (2). Although there was much destruction in the area of the Old Port during World War II many of the precipitous streets and alleys have survived and this is one of them. It is relatively easy to identify the buildings and to get almost the same view as the artist. The festoons of washing are no longer in evidence and the women of easy virtue loitering in the doorways are gone, or at least more discreet! This area now seems rather quaint rather than seedy with a hint of menace in the air.
Walk down Rue Henri Tasso towards the waterfront and then turn right along Quai du Port. Cross the road to the wide pedestrian area and take in all the bustle of this crowded maritime theatre, the water almost completely obscured by the hundreds of vessels and the forest of masts. Although the boats are now almost entirely of the pleasure variety, there are still the comings and goings of the commercial ferries and the occasional fishing boat delivering its catch to the market at the head of the port. The whole scene presided over by the distinctive church on the hill opposite, as it has done in countless paintings of the port since the middle of the nineteenth century. We have already seen the picture by Paul Signac which would have been painted from a spot somewhere along this quay. At a point close to the ancient Hôtel de Ville, Charles Camoin would have been found sketching or painting in 1904 in preparation for a number of works including Le Port de Marseille (3). There are usually a couple of large sailing vessels moored here and as they are a principal feature in Camoins pictures it is relatively easy to put yourself in the artist’s shoes.
As you walk past the Hôtel de Ville, refer back to the painting by Felix Ziem and you will have no difficulty in recognising the building but the hectic commercial activity has been replaced by crowds of visitors and it is tour buses loading and unloading rather than sail-powered trading vessels. In 1918 Albert Marquet painted Port de Marseille (Musée de l’Annonciade, Saint Tropez) (4) and this atmospheric evocation of the harbour on a cold and misty morning must have been based on the view from an upper floor window in a building near the head of the port. In this picture there is no hint of the wild colours of his Fauvist period and the whole effect is rather sombre, perhaps reflecting the feeling of melancholy at the end of the First World War. The view today is still dominated by the expanse of water which occupies almost three-quarters of the painting but unlike the artist’s almost empty stage, today the serried ranks of yachts, dinghies and other vessels of all sizes make for a much jollier sight, even on a grey day.
Now walk to the head of port and the Quai des Belges where you will find the colourful fish market on most mornings. This whole area has recently been smartened up and is now a hub of activity, some of it reflected in the massive mirrored canopy at the far end. It is a great place to watch the sunset on a tranquil evening. At the back of the quay is the Grand Hôtel Beauvau and it is possible that Camoin was at an upper floor window in 1906 when he painted Le Vieux Port de Marseille aux Charettes (Private collection) (5). 
It is possible to get an approximation of the view from the bar on the first floor. The distinctive tower of Notre Dame des Accoules is useful for orientation. Again, the most obvious difference between today and a century ago is the sheer number of pleasure craft crowding the scene, although entertainment of some sort was possibly going on in the slightly mysterious tented structure floating by the quay. Albert Marquet must have been in a room close by in 1917 when he painted Le Vieux-Port à Marseille (Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie de Besançon) (6).
Now continue the walk around the head of the port onto the Quai de Rive Neuve and you will see the distinctive blocks of what were warehouses that featured in Marquet’s moody picture (4). These are now shops and restaurants and it was from an upper floor window in the first block that Henri Manguin painted Fenêtre sur le Vieux Port (Musée Ziem, Martigues) (7). The arched windows and masonry details are the same and the scene is instantly recogniseable with distinctive tower of Notre Dame des Accoules and the facade of the Hôtel de Ville locating the view.
Walking a little further brings us to Place aux Huilles, now the location of a car park below ground and a motorbike park above, but once a waterway that connected with the Old Port and was lined with warehouses on either side. Camoin painted the scene as it was in 1928 in Canal de la Douane (Musée de l’Annonciade, Saint-Tropez) (8). Unlikely as it may seem it is still possible to glimpse a fraction of what the artist saw by walking towards the far end of the square and looking back to the Old Port. Avoiding the entry and exit to the car park and ignoring the trees, the distinctive pepperpot church tower and the remaining warehouse buildings give the clue to the place’s past.
Return to the Quai de Rive Neuve and continue a little further, passing the little pedestrian ferry which plies to and fro across the harbour to the Hôtel de Ville and which is now solar-powered. Walk as far as the Théâtre National de Marseille La Criée and then look across the harbour towards Notre Dame des Accoules and the impressive Hôtel Dieu. It must be somewhere near here that Guillaume Martin stood in 1921 to paint Port de Marseille (The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo) (9). 
This public park is home to the Palais du Pharo, a grand building from the time of Napoleon III which is now a convention centre but the real attraction here are the views from a considerable elevation back across the Old Port but also across to Fort Saint-Jean, MuCem, the Cathédrale de la Nouvelle Major, the seemingly endless outer harbour and the bay of Marseille towards L’Éstaque. It is from here that the quintessential view of the approach to Marseille can be seen, often portrayed by painters across the centuries. The first picture shown here is by Claude-Joseph Vernet and was painted in 1754 and is called Le port de Marseille: l’entrée du port (Musée du Louvre) (10). 
Over a a hundred and fifty years later Jean-Baptiste Olive painted Vieux-Port vu du Pharo (Musée Regards de Provençe) (11). Of course much has changed over this length of time but even today there elements in both pictures that can be easily identified and the enduring appeal of the city in general persists for artists painting now and, no doubt, in the years to come.
