Tree Trunks c. 1885

Editor: This is Paul Cézanne's "Tree Trunks," a watercolor housed at the Harvard Art Museums. The visible brushstrokes and paper texture give it a very immediate, almost unfinished feel. What can you tell me about it? Curator: The immediacy you perceive comes from Cézanne’s focus on the *process* of seeing and rendering. Look at how he’s using watercolor, a readily available and portable medium, to directly engage with the landscape. It's not about a finished product, but about recording a moment, an observation. Editor: So it's less about depicting the trees perfectly and more about the act of painting itself? Curator: Precisely! Consider the labor involved in creating this image. The accessibility of watercolor allowed Cézanne to repeatedly return to and engage with nature, challenging the traditional academic emphasis on studio work. How does understanding this influence your perception of the artwork? Editor: I see it less as a study for something else and more as a complete, self-contained exploration of seeing and mark-making in nature. Thanks for sharing your perspective.