By Tara Miller
“I have come forth to this hill at sunset to
see the forms of the mountains in the horizon - to behold and commune with
something grander than man.”
-H. D. Thoreau
Mont Sainte-Victoire is
perhaps best known for the paintings depicting it by Paul Cezanne in the late
1800s and early 1900s.
Cezanne’s
painting Mont Sainte-Victoire above the
Tholonet Road, 1896-98
The
mountain is located in Provence in southern France. The region is characterized
by a Mediterranean climate, which has hot, dry summers that are prone to fire.
In
1989, a massive fire swept through 5,000 hectares of shrubs and oak forest on
the southern side of the mountain, drastically changing the appearance of the
landscape and leaving the limestone cliffs more exposed.
Firefighters
during the 1989 fire, with Mont Sainte-Victoire in the background.
Mont Sainte-Victoire before the 1989 fire (trets.free.fr)
Mont Sainte-Victoire after the 1989 fire (©2005 Benh Lieu Song)
Hiking is now restricted
in the summer months due to fire risk. These fires will only become more common
as climate change means higher temperatures and lower rainfall for this region.
The area around Mont Sainte-Victoire may eventually become a desert1,
leaving a landscape much different from the ones in Cezanne’s paintings.
Cezanne’s
painting Montagne Sainte-Victoire with
Large Pine (https://courtauld.ac.uk)
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