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Born in Aix, where he lived most of his life, Cézanne (1839–1906) painted hundreds of oil and watercolour scenes of his home town and the nearby Mont Sainte-Victoire (see Aix-en-Provence) in his own Post-Impressionist style. Better than any other painter, he captures the soul of Provence.

The Dutch master (1854–90) created hundreds of his vivid, powerful landscapes and self-portraits during his few years in Arles and St-Rémy. The sunshine of Provence changed the way Van Gogh saw light and colour.

The driving force behind the Cubist movement, Picasso (1881–1973) was influenced by the sights and colours of Provence, where he lived in exile from his native Spain for much of his life. He learned to make ceramics from the potters of Vallauris and helped revive the craft (see Vallauris).

Matisse (1869–1954) lived in Nice from 1917 until his death. His earlier works were inspired by the vivid light and colours of the Riviera. During World War II he retreated to Vence, where he designed the unique Chapelle du Rosaire, including its wonderful vestments and furnishings (see Chapelle du Rosaire).

The masterful exponent of pointillist style, Signac (1863–1935) came to St-Tropez in 1892. He found, in the glittering reflection of sun on sea, the perfect subject for pointillism’s technique of using a myriad of tiny rainbow dots to depict swathes or blocks of colour, giving an almost psychedelic effect.

The Russian-born painter (1887–1985) moved to St-Paulde- Vence in 1949. His light-filled work was often inspired by Biblical themes, and canvases from his Biblical Message series of paintings are in the Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall in Nice (see Musée National Message Biblique Marc Chagall).

Léger (1881–1955) is known for his strong Cubist paintings and his love of bold lines and pure primary colours. First a figurative painter, he worked in the Cubist style before returning to painting that seems to echo poster or graphic art.

Born in Iceland, Klein (1928–62) became one of the leading lights of the Nice School of new realists, who aimed to create art from everyday materials. His Anthropométries , in Nice’s Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (see Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain (MAMAC)), was created by three paint-covered nude women rolling over a huge white canvas.

Dufy (1877–1963) embodies the values of the Fauvist school, with its revolutionary use of bright, intense colour. He found Nice the perfect background for his vivid work.

This realist painter (1834–71) painted sunny landscapes of his native Vaucluse, capturing the pure light of Provence’s rugged hillsides. Among his best known works is Deux Lavandières devant la Sainte-Victoire , on display in the Musée Grobet-Labadie in Marseille (see Musée Grobet-Labadié).