The Gardener Vallier 1906

Cézanne made this painting, The Gardener Vallier, with oil on canvas. The color is so interesting to me here - he’s pushing the limits of dark hues, but still letting some light peek through. It reminds me that artmaking is always a process of discovery, and not knowing is part of the fun. Look at the gardener's hands. They're so yellow, almost glowing against the dark blues and greens of his coat. It’s like Cézanne is using color to show the gardener's inner light, the warmth he brings to the world. You can practically feel the texture of the paint, like you could reach out and touch it. Cézanne's work always feels like a conversation with the past, but also a push towards the future. I see him in artists like Jasper Johns, who also used familiar subjects to explore the possibilities of paint. For me, The Gardener Vallier is a reminder that art is always a work in progress, an open-ended question with no easy answers.