Evening Lecture: French Painters & the Move Towards the Sun

The Arts Society South West London looks at how the next generation of French artists after Impressionism — Signac, Matisse, Gauguin, Cezanne and the Fauves — headed south to the Mediterranean coast in search of light and colour.

Not only Monet and Van Gogh made the journey: Signac settled in St Tropez and invited Matisse, who spent his last years in the south of France; Gauguin lived briefly with Van Gogh in Arles before their friendship broke down. The lecture complements the Royal Academy’s ‘Painting the French Riviera’ exhibition, opening 2 October 2026.

Booking: Free / pay what you can, donations welcome.