I DISCOVERED the Cathédrale d'Images a couple of summers ago. It was the bicentenary of Paul Cézanne's death; Aix-en-Provence in southern France, was choc-full of exhibitions of the artist's work.
But what caught my eye was one being held in a disused quarry 60km from Aix, just outside Les Baux de Provence in the foothills of the Alpilles. So we set off from Nice, Marie-Thérèse and I, one excruciatingly hot day in late July, drove along the A8 motorway past the Montagne Sainte-Victoire, much beloved and painted by the artist, to find this Cathedral of Images and visit Couleurs Cézanne.
The quarry, dug into the limestone hillside, was chosen in 1975 by journalist, war correspondent and passionate photographer Albert Plécy to experiment with his idea of integrating spectators into the images, a concept he called "Image Totale" . Following Plécy's death in 1977, his wife Anne took up the reins; today the director is their grandson, Timothée Polad.
Images of Cézanne's works by theme - the Estaque (the popular Marseille beach resort), Tree, Bathers, Landscape, Portrait, Still Life and Sainte-Victoire - were projected onto walls, pillars, roofs and floors of the galleries, changing every 30 seconds and accompanied by a recording of Cézanne's comments on his work together with pieces of classical music. It was stunning, and a refreshing relief from the scorching Mediterranean sun (at the ticket office, they will offer you a plaid, explaining that it is very cool inside; on no account accept - in the searing summer Provencal temperatures, cool is what you want, believe me).
In 2007, to celebrate the Cathedral of Images' 30th birthday, the theme chosen was Venice; last year, it was Van Gogh. And 2009? Starting on February 25th, an exhibition created by Gianfranco Iannuzzi and Renato Gatto will feature more than 3,000 works by Pablo Picasso.
• www.cathedrale-images.com