The Bare Trees at Jas de Bouffan

Cézanne's father purchased a large mansion called Jas de Bouffan on the outskirts of Aix-en-Provence in 1859. The beautiful buildings and farms had formerly been the residence of the governors of Provence. Cézanne stayed mainly in Aix from the beginning of the 1880s, and the buildings of Jas de Bouffan, its rows of chestnut trees, reservoirs, farm and the walls surrounding the estate are often seen in Cézanne's paintings after 1882. This work was painted near the back gate of the estate. Several roughly depicted chestnut trees with their arabesque-shaped branches are seen in the left of the composition, and the occasional glimpse of blank space attests to the work's overall soft, sketch-like form. Conversely, the undulations that continue from the back entrance and wall to the distant range of mountains are precisely expressed in long narrow strips of blue, blue green and ochre that maintain Cézanne's firm sense of spatial order. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 89)