The Brook
1898
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Paul Cezanne
Paul Cézanne was born on January 19, 1839, in Aix-en-Provence, the son of a hatter turned wealthy banker.
See the richer artist page1898
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Brook is a 1898 unspecified by Paul Cezanne, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a small river winding through trees and rocks, painted in thick, blocky strokes of green, blue, and brown. Cézanne didn’t care about making the scene look real. He stacked colors like building blocks, letting patches of bare canvas peek through. The river isn’t smooth—it’s a jumble of brushstrokes that somehow hold together. If you like how he turns nature into shapes, look up impasto.
Although Cezanne exhibited twice with the Impressionists, he rejected his friends’ goals of capturing the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere in their art. Instead, he sought to create balance among the forms and colors in his compositions. This painting depicts the valley of the Arc River that runs southeast of Cezanne’s home in Aix-en-Provence. Throughout the composition, he juxtaposed strokes of different hues, describing the leaves, branches, and the stream with color rather than drawing the outlines of forms.
Cezanne rarely did preparatory sketches for his paintings. The shapes on the canvas are provided by tonal contrasts and color sensation.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Paul Cézanne was born on January 19, 1839, in Aix-en-Provence, the son of a hatter turned wealthy banker.
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