Farmhouse and Chestnut Trees at Jas-de-Bouffan - Essay Example

Paintings of the period are known for their bold and vibrant use of color and different painting techniques. One of the practitioners of this style of painting was Paul Cezanne, a French painter, though some critics put him in the post-impressionist period. However, a study of his works shows that many of his paintings have the characteristics associated with the impressionist style (Impressionist 3).

One example of Cezanne’s work that exemplifies his style of painting is the ‘Farmhouse and Chestnut Trees at Jas-de-Bouffan’ the Cezanne family estate at Aix in the south of France. Cezzane’s early work did not meet with much success, and it is only later, once introduced to this style of art that the “black and morbid atmosphere of his paintings gradually changes as he concentrates on landscape subjects” (Expo, Paul Cezanne). Moreover, impressionist paintings feature “short ‘broken’ strokes of pure untinted and unmixed color” (Impressionism 2) and these characteristics are very much in evidence in this painting, especially in the manner in which the leaves have been painted. This aspect has to be viewed in the backdrop of the technique then in vogue of “having an almost smooth surface of the canvas without visible brush strokes” (Impressionism 2).

Another feature of this painting which also fits the Impressionist style is the absence of defined lines to determine the edges of various objects, which is true of the chestnut trees in the left foreground. This was achieved by the technique of applying wet paint on wet paint “producing softer edges and intermingling of color” (Impressionism 2). The trees in the foreground merge into the background, drawing the viewers’ attention to the farmhouse as the focus of the painting. There is very little mixing of colors, with the artist recreating the scene as he saw it, in an attempt to “Accurately and objectively record visual reality in terms of transient effects of light and color” (impressionism 3), without embellishments to please any particular clientele. The farmhouse, however, has got a more definite form and this is in keeping with his views that he expressed later that “I want to make impressionism something solid and lasting like the art in the museums” (Cezanne, qtd. in Wikipedia, Paul Cezanne). Thus this particular work also has the early signs of post-impressionism.

“Visionary ahead of his time, Cezanne’s innovative style, use of perspective, composition, and color” (Wikipedia, Paul Cezanne), inspired later-day art, notably post-impressionism and cubism, made famous by Picasso. Many critics of that era were openly derisive of the impressionist movement, but the term “gained favor with the artists, not as a term of derision but as a badge of honor” (Impressionism 2). By all yardsticks thus, this work of art by Cezanne is a visual delight, leaving the viewer mesmerized as if something were about to happen. Read More