Stills crazy For 50

Stills crazy For 50 years the French city of Arles has hosted a major festival of photography. We sent photographer David Ryle in the Jaguar XE to compose a love letter to a place where art is history, present and future. Visiting Arles is a pilgrimage for many artists, not least because of the world-famous Les Rencontres d’Arles photography festival convened in the city annually. But it was also where Van Gogh spent a happy year working on some of his best-loved paintings, a city he hoped would become “a shelter and a refuge” for artists. I was last in Arles about 10 years ago for the festival and it had as much flair and ingenuity then as it does now. Les Rencontres d’Arles has drawn visitors to this part of Provence for half a century but I’ve always felt that the city itself, with its imperious Roman monuments and worn, bucolic beauty, is just as deserving of attention. There’s so much intimacy about the place, and it’s a delight to photograph in the summer, with its languid, sun-drenched days and charming architecture. Light is crucial for any photographer, and Arles has an amazing luminescence. Its residents seem to envisage their hometown as a bohemian sanctuary, home to waifs and strays of any artistic sensibility. Whether through yposting, formal exhibits or street art, there’s a sense of a collective creativity that’s unlike anywhere else. 66 / Jaguar Magazine

Arts Before arriving in Arles, I drove up to this viewpoint on a rocky plateau near Les Baux-de-Provence, which overlooks the medieval village below. I love how, at this time of the morning, the sun had begun to scatter light across the valley, giving the trees a rich, olive glow and the stone a brilliant luminosity against the dour shadow that hangs from the cliff’s edges. Jaguar Magazine / 67