In Search of the Light - Lecture 1 - Painting the Belle Epoque.

The chilly British discovered the sunny charms of the Riviera in 1755 and by the time Nice was handed over to the French under Napoleon III it had become the winter haven of the European elite, boasting sumptuous neo–Moorish–Gothic–Russian follies. The quaint old centre of Nice was full of extravagant Italian Baroque chapels which still preserve their secret Brotherhoods. But it was the blinding blue of the Bay of Angels and the vibrant colours of the hills and perched villages which transfixed Renoir, Matisse, Chagall, Picasso and Cocteau. This lecture was recorded on 9 February 2011.