(For the Olive Retreat, please click here.)

The Painting Retreat

The Retreat is run by Richard Burger and Fleur Macdonald. Richard will be running the painting side of the retreat and Fleur will be looking after you during your stay, including the cooking. We can host up to eight guests in the four large and beautiful bedrooms. If you would like to share your room, you are more than welcome to do so. Guests who are accompanying a painter, but may not necessarily want to take part, are also welcome. They can relax, go for walks in the nature reserve or lounge by the swimming pool. Any questions, please scroll down to the bottom.

Mas de Chausse

The mas, which was once the silk factory of the Frigolet Abbey, a 12th century monastery close by, has its own artistic heritage. For a long time, the Chanel model and muse Inès de La Fressange lived there. Its owner in the 1960s, architect Édouard Albert was a professor at the École des beaux-arts de Paris and jury member for the prix de Rome. He organised painting retreats at the mas for his friends, many of whom were artists and painted Mas de Chausse. The mas is also the subject of a fresco in the local town hall. Find photographs of the mas and its interiors here.

About Richard Burger

Best known for his work in the BP Portrait Awards at the National Portrait Gallery, Richard Burger studied at the Art Students League of New York, the alma mater of artists like Donald Judd and Ai Wei Wei. He has taught numerous masterclasses and was asked to teach an oil portrait painting course at Tate Modern in 2018. Richard’s work has been exhibited in both Europe and America and most recently at the Islington Art Space in London.

Find out more about Richard here.

A typical day at Mas de Chausse

Open the blue shutters and look out over the swimming pool, olive groves and the limestone outcrops of the Montagnette nature reserve. Enjoy a leisurely breakfast from 9am onwards, outside on the terrace looking over the almond orchard and swimming pool. At 10.30am the morning lesson will begin. There will be life model for those who want to practice their figure drawing or painting. Those inspired by the landscape will be able to set up their easel outside in the grounds of the house in the orchard. There will be a relaxed light lunch of fresh, seasonal produce.

The afternoon class will be from 2.30 - 5pm. On some days there will be excursions including a trip to St Remy de Provence, a town where Vincent Van Gogh painted many of his most famous works, as well as to LUMA Arles, the Frank Gehry-designed contemporary art centre. At 7pm we will meet for drinks but also to discuss the day’s work. Dinner, inspired by traditional local cooking and using the freshest, seasonal ingredients, will be served at 8pm. Of course, the wines of the region will be well represented at the dining table. We are close to some of the best Côtes du Rhône vineyards like Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Lirac, Vacqueyras, Gigondas.

Transport

The mas is located in between Arles, Avignon and Nimes, three cities known for their art and culture. If you are tempted to explore, we recommend that you hire a car. For more information about getting there and away, please click here. We can pick you up from Avignon TGV train station free of charge. We can organise for a taxi to pick you up from the train station or Nimes Garon, the nearest airport (extra cost).

Dates

25 - 31 May 2024.

Check-in is from 4pm on the Saturday and check-out is before 10.30am on the Friday.

Prices

Prices start at €1,300 per person, based on sharing a room. If you wish to have your own room, it is €1950. We also have a special rate for non-painting guests (with their artistic companion). Rates include all meals and drinks. Basic art materials will be provided including boards and paper, cleaning materials, paints in basic colours, and easels. We can also recommend a good local art shop. Painters are asked to bring their own brushes, which we can advise on.

We will ask for a non-refundable 50% deposit upon booking, with the balance to be settled three weeks before the start date.

Previous painters

“I did the artists retreat at Mas de Chausse. The house and grounds are beautiful, the catering spoiling and the atmosphere more like a welcoming home than somewhere to stay. Go.”

John (Cheltenham, UK)

“Upon entering Mas de Chausse, I was entirely captivated by its magic. The almond orchard, the seemingly endless grounds, the superbly restored mas- complete with comfortable accommodations. I attended the painting retreat solo, on a friend’s recommendation, and I could not have been more pleased. I’d change nothing. Not to mention, our hostess, Fleur, is truly gifted in the kitchen-cooking lunch and dinner for our entire stay. By the end, I made six new friends from around the world, and I am entirely grateful. I will be back! À tout!!”

Rachel (Los Angeles, USA)

 Please get in touch if you have any questions at fleur_macdonald@hotmail.com