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Pale beige, angular houses cluster at the center of the horizontal landscape painting. The hilly, rocky landscape around and below the houses is painted with cool blues and greens, and warm ivory and caramel brown beneath a pale blue sky. The artist applied the paint with regular, parallel, straight strokes.

Houses in Provence: The Riaux Valley near L'Estaque, c. 1883

Paul Cezanne

West Building, Main Floor — Gallery 84

Cezanne was deeply attached to Provence, the region in southern France where he was born and raised. He often painted its sundrenched terrain. Here Cezanne depicts a mas, a traditional Provençal farmhouse with bright yellow walls and a red tiled roof. Its architecture is solid and imposing. In contrast, he suggests the surrounding landscape with short strokes of paint applied diagonally from left to right. These directional brushstrokes lead the eye up and across the canvas, creating a sense of movement. This allows Cezanne to establish depth purely through color rather than relying on light and shadow.

Object Data

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 65 x 81.3 cm (25 9/16 x 32 in.)

framed: 84.4 x 100.3 x 5.7 cm (33 1/4 x 39 1/2 x 2 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon

Accession Number

1973.68.1

Artists / Makers

Paul Cezanne (artist) French, 1839 - 1906

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
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Detail Information

Provenance

Probably acquired through (Ambroise Vollard [1867-1939], Paris) by Egisto Fabbri [1866-1933], Florence, by 1920;[1] by whom sold c. 1928 to (Paul Rosenberg et Cie., Paris).[2] Marius de Zayas [1880-1961], and his wife Virginia Harrison, New York, by c. 1930; by inheritance to his wife; (Zayas sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 14 October 1965, no. 92); Mr. Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA; gift 1973 to NGA.

[1]Published in article on Fabbri collection in Daedalo, 1920.

[2]See John Rewald, The Paintings of Paul Cézanne: a Catalogue Raisonné, New York, 1996, no. 438, regarding the dispersal of the Fabbri collection.

Associated Names

Fabbri, Egisto
Mellon, Paul
Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc.
Rosenberg & Co., Paul P.
Vollard, Ambroise
de Zayas, Marius

Exhibition History

1920: Esposizione Internationale Biennale d'Arte (Mostra Individuale de P. Cézanne, Venice, 1920, no. 11

1920: Probably Paintings and Drawings by Representative Modern Masters, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, no. 57

1937: French Painting, Marie Harriman Gallery, New York, 1937, no. 2

1950: The 19th Century Heritage, Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, 1950, no. 2, repro.

1952: Cézanne: Paintings, Watercolors & Drawings, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1952, no. 55, repro., as Houses at L'Estaque

1966: French Paintings from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon and Mrs. Mellon Bruce, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1966, no. 69, repro

1980: Post-Impressionism: Cross-Currents in European and American Painting 1880-1906, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980, no. 13, repro.

1981: Loan for display with permanent collection, Munch Museum, Oslo, 1981-1982.

1986: Gifts to the Nation: Selected Acquisitions from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1986, unnumbered checklist

1990: Cezanne and Poussin: The Classical Vision of Landscape, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1990, no. 33, repro.

1990: Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum, Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990, no. 59, repro.

1992: From El Greco to Cézanne: Masterpieces of European Painting from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, National Gallery of Greece, Athens, 1992-1993, no. 61, repro.

1995: Cézanne, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Paris; Tate Gallery, London; Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1995-1996, no. 71, repro.

1998: Cezanne and the Russian Avantgarde, The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, 1998, no. 14, repro.

1999: Art Made Modern: Roger Fry's Vision of Art, The Courtauld Gallery, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 1999-2000, no. 27, fig. 88.

2004: Cézanne: Aufbruch in die Moderne [Cézanne: The Dawn of Modern Art], Museum Folkwang, Essen, 2004-2005, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2006: Cézanne in Provence, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2006, no. 47

2009: Cézanne and Beyond, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2009, pl. 125.

2013: Courbet/Cézanne, La vérité en peinture, Musée Gustave Courbet, Ornans, 2013, no. 42, repro.

Bibliography

1920: Henraux, Lucien. "Cézanne della Raccolta Fabbri." Dedalo 1 (June 1920): repro. p. 55.

1924: Henraux, Lucian. "Une grande collection de Cézanne en Italie. La Collection Egisto Fabbri." L'Amour de L'Art 5 (Nov. 1924):338, repro.

1936: Venturi, Lionello. Cezanne, son art, son oeuvre. 2 vols. Paris, 1936: no. 307, repro.

1966: Goldwater, Robert. "The Glory that was France." Art News 65 (March 1966): 85, repro.

1970: Orienti 1970, no.337.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 64, repro.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 507, no. 751, color repro.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 84, repro.

1990: Französische Impressionisten und ihre Wegbereiter aus der National Gallery of Art, Washington und dem Cincinnati Art Museum. Exh. cat. Neue Pinakothek, Munich, 1990: no. 59, repro.

1991: Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 277, 283, color repro.

1992: Naubert-Riser, Constance. Cézanne. London, 1992, 76, repro., as Houses in Provence (Vicinity of L'Estaque).

1996: Rewald, John. The Paintings of Paul Cézanne: a catalogue raisonné. 2 vols. New York, 1996:no. 438, repro.

1997: Kelder, Diane. The Great Book of French Impressionism, 1997, no. 361, repro.

1997: Yamanashi, Toshio. Paul Cézanne, a la recherche de l'absolu, Japan, 1997, p. 70-71, repro.

2004: Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 391, no. 325, color repro.

2007: Bardazzi, Francesco, ed. Cézanne in Florence: Two Collectors and the 1910 Exhibition of Impressionism. Exh. cat. Palazzo Strozzi, Florence. Milan, 2007: 262 fig. 23.