Farm at Montgeroult 1898

Paul Cézanne painted "Farm at Montgeroult" with oil on canvas, using materials typical of his time, but with a distinctive touch. Cézanne’s technique involved layering paint in methodical strokes, giving the composition a sense of structure and solidity, not unlike masonry. His commitment to this technique meant countless hours of labor, patiently building up the image, brick by brick, in ways that evoke the labor that built the scene itself. The earthy tones and the way the paint is applied, almost troweled onto the canvas, emphasize the substantiality of the farm buildings and the ground beneath them. Cézanne elevated the act of painting to a level of craft, challenging the traditional hierarchy that separated art from more humble forms of making. Through his labor-intensive method, the painting itself becomes a testament to the value of work, both artistic and agricultural.