Landscape with Trees 1895 - 1898

Editor: So, here we have Cézanne's "Landscape with Trees," dating from around 1895 to 1898. It's a pencil drawing, quite understated. I’m struck by the sheer number of lines. What do you make of the composition, its geometry? Curator: Indeed. Notice how Cézanne uses the pencil not for tonal gradations, but to construct form through linear density. See how the weight and direction of each stroke create spatial recession. Consider, too, the structure of the trees themselves, rendered as geometrical volumes instead of literal representations. Editor: So you are saying the trees aren't as important as the geometry and its arrangement on the page? Curator: Precisely. The landscape is merely the vehicle. Cézanne is interrogating the very act of seeing, reducing the world to its essential forms. Look at the consistent application of hatching. What effect does that repetition achieve? Editor: It's almost like he's building the landscape, piece by piece, rather than depicting something already there. The lack of a single, dominant focal point flattens the perspective. Curator: Exactly! Cézanne abandons traditional perspective, choosing instead to present multiple viewpoints simultaneously. This flattening foreshadows cubism. The materiality of the graphite on paper is key – his concern isn’t with illusionism, but the language of art. Editor: I hadn’t considered it in the context of cubism before. Seeing it as a breakdown of form really opens it up. Curator: Indeed, it's through careful examination of line, form, and the artist's process, that this work transcends being just a landscape, it becomes a profound statement on the nature of perception. Editor: Thanks for walking me through this Curator, I feel like I see it with a fresh perspective now. Curator: My pleasure. A close reading always unveils the layered meanings of artwork.