07-08-2025
Head to Aix-en-Provence to celebrate modernist painter Cézanne
Fans of painter Paul Cézanne heading to the south of France can now visit his family estate where he lived for more than four decades.
Work is still under way at Jas de Bouffan but it has been renovated extensively, says Elodie L'Huillier, the cultural officer in charge.
When he was not in Paris, post-Impressionist Paul Cézanne lived here for over 40 years and the house was one of his most important places of work.
Cézanne, known as the "father of modern art," is celebrated for his innovative use of colour, geometric forms, and his bridge between Impressionism and Cubism, particularly his exploration of how we perceive and represent the world.
Fans willbe excited to hear that further fragments of his wall paintings were discovered in the Grand Salon during the renovation work. A "big surprise," says L'Huillier, though it was already known that Cézanne painted the living room walls when he was 20 years old.
Perspectives from the past
Some of his works were created in the spacious garden of the country house. "You can still see his perspectives from back then," says L'Huillier, showing pictures depicting the house surrounded by greenery.
Work is still needed before the extensive park is fully restored horticulturally. But if you squint, you can almost imagine Cézanne holding his brush beside an easel beneath the plane trees.
Aix-en-Provence, the home of the painter, is still very popular today. "I moved to Provence because of Cézanne," says Mara McKillen, an Irishwoman who runs Château La Coste, a nearby family vineyard that is also a centre for the arts.
In its extensive grounds, art fans make pilgrimages to sculptures by greats including Damien Hirst and Louise Bourgeois. "The name Cézanne attracts artists like a magnet," says McKillen.
That applies to architects too, who have added structures to the 200-hectare grounds. While the original country house dates back to 1682, you can also see buildings by modern architects including Oscar Niemeyer, Norman Foster, and Tadao Ando.
Cézanne's original tools
Aix is celebrating this year, not only because of the restored Jas de Bouffan, as Cézanne Year. You can also see a further Cézanne site that has been thoroughly overhauled: His last permanent place of work, the Atelier des Lauves in the north of the city.
He worked there tirelessly until his death. You can see his original tools, from easels to paint pots, brushes and palettes, as though they are still waiting for the artist to return.
In the old town of Aix-en-Provence, with its magnificent palaces and elegant facades, visitors can discover traces of the artist everywhere. "We walk through the same streets that Cézanne also used," says Elodie Marie, a city guide, as she turns into Rue Cardinale and stops in front of a school.
"Cézanne attended the Collège Bourbon with his friend Émile Zola, the later writer." Zola is one of France's great novelists and was also a companion of Guy de Maupassant. Cézanne created a portrait of Zola, and the work now hangs in the Musée Granet, which has curated a major exhibition with international loans for Cézanne Year, with a focus on Cézanne in Jas de Bouffan.
On the Boulevard Cours Mirabeau, there is a bustling market. Cézanne was fond of visiting Café Les Deux Garçons, later frequented by painter Pablo Picasso. The venue, which enjoys legendary status among artists and creatives, is being restored following a fire.
Amidst the lively atmosphere of the many street cafés, it is easy to imagine how Cézanne and his colleagues used to meet up for a drink and to enjoy life - with scenes that recall his famous painting "The Card Players."
Walking in Cézanne's footsteps
Next door is the site where the painter's father worked as a hatter before becoming a wealthy banker and acquiring the Jas de Bouffan estate. The space is now a bank branch.
At the beginning of his career, Aix-en-Provence did not appreciate the city's most famous son and pioneer of modernity. "Cézanne was uncompromising, often difficult to deal with, and had a rough manner," says L'Huillier. Now, though, he is honoured by a bronze statue near the La Rotonde fountain that shows him with a hat, walking stick, and knapsack on his back.
In this attire, the plein air painter wandered out to the Carrières de Bibémus, the quarries outside the city gates. During guided tours, art lovers follow Cézanne's paths to cubist-like rock formations.
"In the past, stone blocks were hewn from the landscape and used in the city," says tour guide Marie, looking at the almost mystical ochre rock world.
Here, the painter rented a solitary little house, which you can still see. In this seclusion, Cézanne created masterpieces. His brushstrokes married rocks with trees in a way never seen before. Here, in his paintings of the quarry, hints of Cubism emerged.
Obsessed with the mountain
But Cézanne's most famous motif is the mythical Sainte-Victoire east of Aix. The view of the rugged table mountain from the Jardin des Peintres viewpoint is particularly impressive. The painter often came here to work. The mountain became an obsession for him, leading to the Mont Sainte-Victoire series. Museums around the world count at least 44 oil paintings and 43 watercolours with this motif.
You can also attend painting workshops to depict the mountain and other motifs. "Cézanne's images in mind inspire creativity," says one participant, dipping her brush into the watercolour and letting it glide over the paper. "The process of losing yourself is more important than what comes out of it."
Cézanne meanwhile was wholly obsessed with his work. He died after working for hours in the rain. You can visit his grave in the Saint-Pierre cemetery, where metal plaques with a large C lead you to his final resting place.
The touching simplicity of his grave stands in stark contrast to the dizzying millions that his works now cost.
But the fragments of the murals found in his former family estate, Jas de Bouffan, are not likely ever to be sold.
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