Cezanne was a Post-Impressionist who didn’t shy away from new muses and techniques. Unfortunately, his body of work isn’t always as widely recognized as it should be. These are 15 Cezanne paintings you need to know!
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The Card Players
Cezanne’s The Card Players is actually a Cezanne painting out of a larger collection of similar paintings. While the muse is similar for all of these paintings, they vary in the specific subjects, posing, and size. They also vary in how many players are shown in each painting.
- The Lac D Annecy
The Lac D Annecy is a landscape painting dominated by cool colors. The main focal point of the painting isn’t only the chateau in the distance but by the tree on the left side of the canvas that wraps across the top of the piece as well.
- A Turn In the Road
A Turn in the Road uses Cezanne’s distinct Post-Impressionism style to show a curved road through a neighborhood. It uses a wide range of colors that are contrasted cleverly to show the different components of the painting. The landscape of plant life on the right side of the road shows interesting blending.
- Tulips In a Vase
The still life Tulips In a Vase is an interesting study of the contrast of cool and warm colors. The background, while featuring yellows, is dominated by blue and purple tones. This allows the vibrantly-colored tulips and fruit beside them to stand out brilliantly.
- Small Forest
The painting Small Forest shows Cezanne’s love for Post-Impressionism hues and abstractionism blended perfectly. Not only do the trees have artistically curved branches and trunks but the painting also makes use of unconventional colors to display the artist’s muse.
- Maison Maria at the Way to the Chateau Noir
The subject of Maison Maria at the Way to the Chateau Noir is an interesting and even somewhat mysterious piece. While the painting itself is beautifully done, once again showing Cezanne’s love for contrasting colors, the question of who Maria is has never been answered.
- Fruit and Jug On a Table
Another still life, Cezanne took a classic approach and painted his rendition of a plate of fruit on the table. Even with such simple subject matter, Cezanne managed to make the piece visually engaging with the use of interesting colors.
- Mont Sainte Victoire (Courtauld)
Mont Saine Victoire (Courtauld) is another piece in which abstractionism is evident. While the landscape in the background is fairly standard, the curling branches across the top of the painting add a unique touch.
- Bend In the Forest Road
Bend In the Forest Road is a clear study of color. It strays away from solid lines and objects and instead opts to display shapes through color alone. It’s hard to make out individual items in the image but the subject matter is still fairly clear.
- Louis Auguste Cezanne, Father of the Artist Reading
Cezanne took a personal approach to portraiture with this painting in regards to the model he used. As the title suggests, this painting gives viewers a glimpse of the artist’s father at ease, relaxing with a newspaper.
- The Four Seasons, Spring
Cezanne painted the seasons as women in this series with the piece representing spring show above. The concept is excellently personified and symbolism such as the length of flowers she’s holding and the warm-weather attire clearly show what she’s meant to represent.
- Bathers 2
Stepping into portraiture that isn’t as realistically detailed as the painting before, Cezanne’s Bathers 2 takes a look at nude portraiture. In keeping with his style, the artist opted to rely more on blended colors than hard borders in this depiction.
- Bouquet of Flowers
Another still life, Bouquet of Flowers allowed Cezanne to work with a muse as vibrant as his art. Rather than painting a bouquet of one type of flower, this miscellaneous collection allowed for plenty of artistic freedom and contrast.
- Boy with Skull
Stepping back into portraiture, Cezanne took a more posed approach to Boy with Skull. The model is more strictly postured than in many of his other portraits and specific set pieces such as the skull suggest that the artist set a specific scene for this painting as compared to the painting of his father in his everyday life.
- Chateau Du Medan
The Chateau Du Medan gives viewers a very detailed image compared to many of Cezanne’s more abstract landscapes. Touches like the reflection in the water below and windows on the buildings add a level of impressive detail to the painting.
Conclusion
Cezanne was a skilled artist with an incredibly expansive portfolio. These paintings are 15 of what should be his most well-known but they only scratch the surface of his repertoire. There is plenty more to see!
