Cézanne and the Pull of the South

A painting of mountains in the distance, beyond open green terrain dotted with small structures. The scene is framed by two slender tree trunks in the foreground. The brushwork is loose, and the prevailing color is a vibrant green.

Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1886–87. Oil on canvas. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., Acquired 1925, 0285. Courtesy The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. 

During the 1870s and ’80s, Cézanne divided his time between Paris and his native Provence, where he eventually resettled. There he began to paint the landscape motifs—views of rocky pine forests, a quarry, the Mediterranean coast, a half-ruined château, the valley beneath Mont Sainte-Victoire—in the distinctive style for which he is known. He showed his work little and had hardly any success commercially, but he attracted admirers among critics and writers. His still-life compositions became more audacious and his portraits more subtle. 

Generously sponsored by the Martin A. Ryerson Lectureship Fund and the John Walsh Lecture and Education Fund.

 

Attend In Person or on Zoom

Attend in person in the Gallery’s Robert L. McNeil, Jr., Lecture Hall or virtually on Zoom. No registration required for in-person attendance. The doors to the lecture hall open at 12:30 pm. Space is limited. 

Registration required for virtual attendance. On Zoom, closed captions will be available in English. All lectures will be filmed and archived to the Gallery’s YouTube channel. 

About Cézanne’s People, Places, and Things

In this three-part lecture series, John Walsh, B.A. 1961, Director Emeritus of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, considers the work of Paul Cézanne (1839–1906). 

Learn more about the series