Exhibition ‘Gustave Fayet en Provence’ 1 March – 31 October 2025

This major exhibition, bringing together Gustave Fayet’s Provençal work for the first time, examines the artist’s view of this land of choice, which, more than a simple motif, shines through with its many intimate, artistic and literary resonances. From his roots in Beaucaire to his attraction to regionalist literature and the work of Van Gogh, Gustave Fayet’s Provence will be understood through the prism of his family history, his literary imagination and his visual culture.

Like Fontfroide Abbey and Château d’Igny, Saint-André Abbey played a key role in Gustave Fayet’s artistic universe. Acquired in 1916, the abbey became the focal point of his stays in Provence. From the Alpilles to Toulon, via the Camargue, the Provençal landscape and its sunshine provided motifs, colours and light for the most fertile period of his career as a painter and creator. Away from the wine business, he devoted long periods to it at the precise moment when he was beginning to make a name for himself in the field of decorative arts, in the 1920s. A rich collection of 122 drawings, watercolours, paintings and illustrated books will be on show.

The exhibition can be viewed :
– either as a self-guided tour (during abbey opening hours as part of the garden visit, garden admission charge)
– or as a guided tour

Dates for guided tours with guide Sylvie Toussaint:

Sunday 27 April – 3pm

Sunday 18 May – 3pm

Sunday 22 June – 3pm

Sunday 27 July – 3pm

Sunday 24 August – 3pm

Saturday 20 September – 10am (European Heritage Days)

Sunday 12 October – 3pm

By reservation only: info@abbayesaintandre.fr

Guided tour price: €16 per person (including access to the gardens) – €12 for Abbaye Pass holders

 

Gustave Fayet (1865-1925)

Gustave Fayet was a Languedoc man born in Béziers in 1865, the son of a painter, a painter himself and one of the greatest collectors of his generation; from 1899 he bought the works of little-known artists such as Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, Matisse and the Fauves. His friend Odilon Redon decorated the library at Fontfroide Abbey, which he acquired in 1908. In 1916, Elsa Koeberlé took him to Saint-André; he was captivated by the beauty of the site and decided to help acquire it in order to save this heritage…

Gustave Fayet Season 2025-2027

In 2025, a series of events is being launched to celebrate the centenary of the death of Gustave Fayet (1865-1825). This unique and important season will pay tribute to the breadth of his artistic work, while showcasing the finest pieces of his output through various themes and also his collections. Several exhibitions will be held in the south of France and in Paris until 2027.