Ivan Pranishnikoff discovered the Camargue and the village of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer around 1881-82. He very likely succumbed to the charm of that reion wich was still a wild area a century ago.
Until about the year 1900 he returned there regularly until he finally settled in Saintes-Maries.

Now estalished in Provence, he was on familiar terms with the félibres.
The Félibrige, founded on May 21, 1854, is a movement of a literary, social and political character, whose main object is the linguistic and cultural revival of Provence, and ultimatlely of all that part of the south claiming the "langue d'Oc" as its heritage. (If you wish to know more about Félibrige, go and have a look to the link's pages  that'll take you to web pages that will tell you more about it than I could.)
 Ivan Pranishnikoff was so interested in this movement that he learnt Provençals well enough to translate a few of Tourguenev's poems into the language of Fréderic Mistral.
He also published an original tale : "Lou Vieil Castellas". I will put this text on line later on, with its tranlation.
I will also give more information on those of Ivan Pranishnikoff's activities shared with the more highly renowned félibres such as Frédéric Mistral, Marius Jouveau, le Marquis Folco de Baroncelli....