Paul Cézanne (1839–1906)
Around 1885
Oil paint on canvas
73.5 x 92.5 cm
Acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1926
The Château Noir, a mock ruin near Paul Cézanne’s home town of Aix-en-Provence, was a favourite landscape subject for the artist during the later decades of his career. This view, one of the first he painted, is constructed primarily through contrasts of colour applied as lively, short strokes of the brush rather than by using conventional contouring lines. Cézanne leads us through the cool greens of the tree branches and into the heart of the scene, a glimpse of the warm ochres and the red door of the building.
The painting is a compelling example of Cézanne’s expression of the Provençal landscape as full of vitality and visual harmonies.