Provence Paintings
Art of the French Countryside

"Le Pigeonnier " Lot Valley, Southern France
©Jennifer E. Young
Oil on Board, size: 6"x 12"
Framed price: $625.00

This is an original oil painting available for sale. Click here to read more about this piece. To purchase , please contact us through this web site, or phone us at 1-877-DIAL ART.

About the Painting:

The Lot Valley in southern France has many small tower-like structures that sit alone, apart from the other buildings on the farmland. These are the "pigeonniers", or pigeon houses. Apparently the tower formation is a feudal symbol of nobility, and at one time, only the nobles could have pigeonniers on their land. It seemed a little odd to have such a beautifully made and permanent structure just to house some pigeons, but the birds were quite important in this society. Their eggs and young are prized for the meat, their droppings used for excellent fertilizer on the farm, and of course, they were used as messenger birds since antiquity, and even up until World War II.

I painted this pigeonnier en plein air (on location) in the little village where I stayed. It was just down the street from where I stayed, and I found it to be most beautiful in the early light of morning or in the golden light of
dusk. I painted this one late in the afternoon just as the sky was starting to take on that lovely warm glow.