Chestnut Trees at the Jas de Bouffan in Winter ~ Paul Cezanne

Location : Institute of Arts, Minneapolis
Year : 1885-86 Oil on Canvas
Jas de Bouffan in Aix-en-Provence is Cezanne's family property. Mount Sainte-Victoire can be seen from the house and he put it as a decorative pattern of chestnut trees. The trees provide depth as we look through to the mountain, but they also act as a patterned screen. He painted the distant sky using lighter colour to define the darker edges of the brances and twigs and it brings the sky forward, making the viewer more aware of the surface of the canvas.