AIX-EN-PROVENCE
In search of an artist ancestor
Daily Mirror
AN ART BREAK
Francois-Marius Granet. A 19th century painter now considered a minor master. He studied under Jacques-Louis David, the most famous painter of the era. He met Napoleon and the Pope, the Queen of Naples was his patron, he was decorated by King Louis-Philippe, a curator of the Louvre and Versailles museums – but, most of all, in no way related to me.
I thought he was, of course. Whenever I heard mention of the museum named after him in his home town of Aix-en-Provence in the South of France, I would say he was probably a distant relative. And I believed it, too. It was all quite hazy but I remember once being told by a family member that our branch of the Granets originated from Aix. My loose logic concluded that, with our name being quite rare, we probably were related.
It never crossed my mind to verify it. But before I knew it, a visit was arranged for me to see the museum. My bold claim had to be backed up. Gulp.
PROVENCE
Tracing your French family tree
France Magazine
SHEDDING LIGHT ON MY PAST
After an unusually overcast start, summer had finally arrived. It was now one of those blazing blue-sky days with the inside of the car like a furnace and the road ahead shimmering in the high sun. My destination was Le Lavandou, on the southern end of the Côte d’Azur, my family’s home for three generations and where I now hoped to consult the past.
The problem, though, was the past was 35 tourist-clogged kilometres away. By the time I reached my destination almost 2 hours later, it was lunchtime already.
‘Sorry,’ the town hall's receptionist informed me. ‘The archives are now closed and won’t open again until tomorrow morning.’
Oh, those French and their relaxed work ethic. Tomorrow was another day, a different appointment. This was the only time I had left.