Sitting with Cezanne
Sometimes bad days turn into good ones. We had set off on a two-hour drive to visit Aix-En-Provence in southern France. We had been told it was worth visiting, but when we arrived we couldn’t find anywhere to park or see anything interesting. We were about to turn around and head back to St. Paul-Trois-Chateaux, when we saw a sign for Cezanne’s studio!
Finally finding somewhere to park on a side street, we bought a ticket to visit his atelier. It was—for me—an emotional experience.
Cézanne spent most of his life painting landscapes, still lifes and portraits in solitude and obscurity in Aix-en-Provence.
I was able to sit where he sat, next to the massive window that let in the light that was so important to him.
The clothes he wore each day were hanging in one corner.
Cezanne’s easel sat in another.
When he painted here, the atelier was in the country-side outside of town. It had a view of Mt. Sainte-Victoire, the mountain he painted in 36 oils and 45 watercolours. Now it is on a busy road surrounded by apartments. The view is gone.
One of Cezanne’s many oil paintings of Mt. Sainte-Victoire.
Sadly, after his death the studio was locked up and nobody entered for 15 years. At one point developers wanted to knock it down to build flats! Luckily, the studio and the garden around it are now protected.
The front door to Cezanne’s atelier
And to think we nearly missed it this experience. We’re so glad we persisted! Get information about visiting the atelier (in French) here.
