Saint-Victoire was one of Cezanne's favorite subjects to paint. It was near his home in Aix-en-Provence. He would paint different views, always using blocks of bold color. It gave them "flat depth." The painting of this view has cool colors and it looks as if the mountain could come alive at any moment.
At first, the painting may seem odd and blurry. However, the more it is seen, the more trees and some small houses in the middle of them are seen. The colors are cool and bring a relaxed feeling. Cezanne's technique of flattening the subjects was brought into other paintings and helped to creat "Art Neuvo" in the decorative arts.
This is another painting that is calming because of the majority of cool colors. The major technique used in it by Cezanne is straight lines. The straight line of the horizon makes the scene seem stable. Then, the straight lines on the roofs give them depth.
This scene can seem scary because it can conjure ideas of images seen at Halloween. However, it can also be calming because of the purple sky. Throughout this painting, it can be seen that Cezanne used triangles to both tie the painting together and break up sections of the painting. The tree branches form triangles. The tops of the windows are triangles and the corners of the buildings are triangles.
When this painting is first seen, it may be thought that it is not finished. However, looking at it makes it seem that there are lines that flow out from the flowers. The flowers also seem to move or change colors at time. This is what Cezanne wanted as he wanted the painting to be a study in color and line.
Thanks for the info on Paul Cezanne. H5
He is one of my favorite authors. I once saw a retrospective of his work in Paris. H5
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