Paul Cézanne painted ‘Bords de la Marne’ (1888-1890) measuring 65cm by 81cm, representing the banks of the Marne, in Ile-de-France, with a house and willows and poplar trees reflecting in the water in summer. The artist sets out zones of sky, buildings, embankment and water in a sequence of horizontal bands — which is a distinctive mannerism of many of his landscapes.

The French Impressionist, who transformed the art history by the heroic experiments of the early 20th century, was fond of painting outdoors for inspiration from nature. Cézanne must have enjoyed painting along the banks of the Marne River as it was depicted in many of his paintings. The canvas was painted during his “underground” years, (1877-1895) when he stopped exhibiting in the Impressionists’ group exhibitions and virtually disappeared from the Paris art world. It is exhibited at the Art Gallery of NSW, Australia.— M.I.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, July 5th, 2015

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