Paul Cezanne

Paul Cezanne took part in impressionism exhibitions and he also created the bridge between impressionism & post-impressionism. When he grew tired of Impressionism, he decided to move on & go to his home town, Aix-En-Provence, where he could discover his art once again. His aim was to capture the discoveries made in Impressionism but with a sense of perfection, balance and order. Most of his paintings are related to the scenes found in Provence, Cezanne and the Sainte Victoire Mountain had a strong relationship. He painted this mountain at least 60 times. 

Bestand:Paul Cezanne La Montagne Saint Victoire Barnes

Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley

In this post, I’m about to review the transformation which these 60 renderings carry. The influence of Pisarro is very much visible, he abandoned the dark colours and the canvases display a brighter painting. For Cezanne, a painting is not an image, in these renderings we can see that he transformed each landscape in his way, positioning the trees and houses. This conveys a transformation from the nature world to the artistic world. He was interested in the world, not in the subject matter. He represented these imperfect forms with traditional shapes. In his first paintings the main elements were still visible but as years passed by the paintings became more simplified. The light in the painting, gives an impression of real depth, even the chunks of colour with no blending in between. These different planes of colour all placed next to each other, are communicated trough his broad brushstrokes. Cezanne’s small, very repetitive brushstrokes are characteristic & highly recognizable, which were arranged in a manner to enhance the feel of harmony. This is seen in a later part of his career, where he used colour in shorter strokes.



Sources

Bruce and Bobbie Johnson, Paul Cezanne 

Available at:-

http://hoocher.com/Paul_Cezanne/Paul_Cezanne.htm (Accessed on 27.10.12)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-2012, The Transformation of landscape painting in France

Available at:-

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lafr/hd_lafr.htm (Accessed on 26.10.12)

Avignon et Provence, 1996-2012, Paul Cezanne( The Sainte Victoire mountain, promised land of his devotion)

Available at:-

http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/cezanne-biography/paul-cezanne/cezanne-paintings.htm#.UJUtUm_LTE0 (Accessed on 26.10.12)