Celebrating Cézanne in Aix-en-Provence

Our group is taking a watercolour class on the terrace of Les Lodges, a delightful hotel in Aix-en-Provence noted for its wonderful view of Mont Sainte-Victoire. We are embarking on a futile attempt to replicate the work of the most celebrated resident of the city, the unrivalled Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne.

Capturing the famous mountain – which the restless and eternally dissatisfied Cézanne himself painted more than a hundred times – is not as easy as it looks. My pitiful attempt to paint one of the most recognisable subjects in the history of art looks more like the daubing of a four-year-old than an exquisite depiction of the variegated hues of the Provencal peak. But the fact that we are making an effort to copy the revered artist's work at all underscores his immense reach.

Cézanne suffered an astounding amount of rejection in his lifetime and was even ostracised by his native city, Aix. In 1900, Henri Pontier, the director of the Musée Granet, considered Cézanne’s work too unorthodox and declined to hang any painting by the ground-breaking artist on the museum's walls.

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Despite this, Cézanne had a profound spiritual connection to the place. The city was the inspiration for his most memorable work, and he viewed it as his muse. Now Aix, the lovely, light-dappled Provencal city where the great artist was born and died, is returning the favour, paying homage to him in a year-long festival, "Cézanne 2025".

Jas de Bouffan: Cézanne's studio en plein air

One of the centrepieces of the festival is the grand reopening of Jas de Bouffan, the artist's much-loved 12-acre home, which has been closed for renovation since 2017. A splendid 18th-century mansion where the family lived from 1859 to 1899, Jas de Bouffan was never merely a home for Cézanne; it was his studio en plein air, where he learned the art of painting.

In these grounds, he first developed his revolutionary use of colour, structure and perspective. The captivating, verdant landscape surrounding the house is still flourishing at the neighbouring farm is planted with vines, almond, mulberry, chestnut, cherry and olive trees. Cézanne drew on this to create such memorable paintings as "House and Farm at Jas de Bouffan". He also painted his unparalleled "The Card Painters" series at the estate, using local farmhands as models.

Timeless masterpieces at the Musée Granet

Another highlight of the festival is "Cézanne at the Jas de Bouffan", an exhibition that runs at the Musée Granet until 12 October. Underlining the extent to which Cézanne was inspired by the family home, the show displays 130 timeless paintings of Jas de Bouffan.

It homes in on many of his favourite themes: bathers, Provençal landscapes, self-portraits, and still lifes in oil and watercolour. "Cézanne at the Jas de Bouffan" features such world-renowned paintings as "The Four Seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter", "Bather and the Rocks", "Game of Hide and Seek (based on Lancret)", "Self-Portrait in Front of a Pink Background", "Still Life with Cherries and Peaches" and, of course, "The Bathers" and "The Card Players".

Cézanne was a loner who preferred nature to people. But despite his wilful detachment from others, he created myriad works of art that continue to touch the human soul today. Thanks to his groundbreaking deployment of geometric simplification, he helped usher in Cubism, Fauvism and Abstraction. One of his many passionate devotees, Henri Matisse, called Cézanne "the master of us all". I would recommend, then, that you hurry to Aix now to marvel at his wondrous legacy.

James was a guest of Aquabella Hotel, Aix-en-Provence. For more information about the festival, visit cezanne2025.com