''House in Provence'' (French title: ''Maison devant la Sainte-Victoire près de Gardanne'') is an

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

artist

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

. Created between 1886 and 1890, it is part of the permanent collection in the

Indianapolis Museum of Art The Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA) is an encyclopedic art museum located at Newfields, a campus that also houses Lilly House, The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park: 100 Acres, the Gardens at Newfields, the Beer Garden, and more. It i ...

Description

With muted tones and soft colors, Cézanne painted a home, accented by the gray-blue mountains in the background, the soft greens of the rolling hills, and the brown tones of the fields. Cézanne's dynamic style is best observed closely in this painting; the brushstrokes intersect in dynamic way, creating a patchwork. The brushstrokes create lively movement within the hard lines that he creates to border the house and the mountain.

Historical information

''House in Provence'' comes out of Cézanne's 'mature style', where he lived in Provence with his family, where Cézanne lived as a youth. This landscape is set on the South side of

Montagne Sainte-Victoire Montagne Sainte-Victoire ( Provençal oc, Venturi / Santa Venturi according to classical orthography and oc, Ventùri / Santo Ventùri, label=none according to Mistralian orthography) is a limestone mountain ridge in the south of France whi ...

, which was a favorite subject of the artist. Cézanne did not share the same interests as the rest of the impressionists, instead focusing his work on the basic structure of his subjects. Here are the horizontal bands of grey-blue, green, and brown, contrasting with the vertical trees and the solidly-built isolated farmhouse.

Provenance

''House in Provence'' was probably bought by the artist

Ambroise Vollard Ambroise Vollard (3 July 1866 – 21 July 1939) was a French art dealer who is regarded as one of the most important dealers in French contemporary art at the beginning of the twentieth century. He is credited with providing exposure and emotio ...

. In 1910, it was sold to Henri Bernstein. It was likely sold to

Gottlieb Reber Gottlieb Friedrich Reber (23 March 1880 – 15 July 1959) was a German art collector and dealer who was involved with the trade in looted art during the Second World War.Caroline Marmon Fesler Caroline Marmon Fesler (1878 – December 28, 1960) was an American art and music patron, cultural philanthropist, and fine-art collector. Her contributions to the Indianapolis, Indiana, arts community included financial support and gifts of fine ar ...

for the John Herron Art Institute, now the

, in memory of her parents, Daniel W. and Elizabeth C. Marmon.

References

{{IMAart Paintings by Paul Cézanne 1885 paintings Paintings in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art

Description

Historical information

Provenance

See also

References