Gardanne (Horizontal View) 1885

Curator: "Gardanne (Horizontal View)," painted by Paul Cézanne around 1885. It currently resides at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. My immediate response is to the overwhelming materiality of the paint itself. Look how thickly it’s applied, especially in the rendering of the rooftops. Editor: Indeed. And note the way the composition directs our gaze. The town unfolds from left to right, culminating in the church tower which functions almost as a vertical keystone, locking the entire visual structure together. We can use semiotics to deconstruct how our understanding is formed based on perspective in a way which seems like an objective experience. Curator: Yes, the rooftops are almost geological strata, built with rough, angular strokes. I am wondering about the sheer physical act of creation involved. This is not just paint on canvas; it's almost built into something with a physical substance and shape! Think about the conditions under which Cézanne was working. What were the realities of the town he painted? Editor: Certainly. We see a fracturing of traditional perspective here. Cézanne presents multiple viewpoints simultaneously, defying a single, fixed vantage point. This challenges classical representation. Curator: The textures achieved by working the oil paint across the canvas feel incredibly intentional. I wonder about Cézanne's particular access to paints, and any processing he might have been using on those materials to alter the character or qualities we’re seeing! Editor: Exactly. Note how those patches of color, seemingly applied in a purely abstract manner, coalesce to create a representational scene. He does not blend; instead he lets blocks and dabs stand together creating contrast with juxtaposed lines and points which trigger an illusion. The tension between abstraction and representation becomes the true subject, challenging what paintings should or could become! Curator: It's fascinating to consider how his choices of the labor process, or his access to the landscape that’s present, impacted our response as well. Editor: Indeed. By rejecting established artistic traditions, Cézanne forged a new path, impacting all who came after! Curator: In closing, Cézanne prompts us to reconsider not only how we see but how the materiality of a place finds form within our imagination. Editor: Absolutely. A revolutionary artist reshaping how we apprehend visual space itself!