The Mont Sainte-Victoire is one of the most famous paintings by Paul Cézanne, created in 1892-1895. It is a well-known French landscape painting painted during the artist's stay at Aix-en-Provence. The painting depicts a view from the hill of Mont Sainte-Victoire in the Provence region of France, looking toward the Mediterranean Sea. The mountain is covered with trees and vegetation and has a rocky outcrop on its left side which rises above an expanse of lush green foliage. The mountain is surrounded by an intense blue sky framed by clouds that appear to be reflected in its waters.

The painting is a study of light and shade. The sky appears vividly blue, while the sky's hue mutes the mountain's green colors. The mountainside is covered with moss-covered stones and trees, which give it a texture that contrasts with its bright colors. There are no human figures in the painting, but one can see distant houses on either side of the mountain, presumably the homes of those living in this area.

There are two main elements in the painting, the mountainside and a hillside with a house. The mountainside is composed of rocky outcroppings and green-gray rocks, painted in light tones contrasting with the sky. The shapes of these rocks vary, creating areas of different values: some are rounded and smooth, others are jagged and pointed.

The house is painted in reds and browns, in a style that suggests it is composed of natural materials. The painting contains many overlapping planes, which emphasizes the three-dimensional effect. These planes are bisected by dark lines that break up the image into sections: they divide the mountainside from the house and its surroundings and separate these surfaces from the house itself.

The dark lines also create a sense of depth, and they are echoed by the brightly lit building at their endpoints. Different shapes, some solid and some broken, dominate the composition. A tree trunk occupies a large portion at one side; this is not drawn as an element of perspective but rather as a three-dimensional shape in its own right, with the tree's branches appearing as scarcely detached patches.

The leftmost mass is a round, solid shape that resembles a pelican in profile, repeated on the composition's right side. The sky creates a slightly surreal atmosphere. The sky appears to be divided into mostly black and white areas, the left side of which is streaked with reds and oranges, while blues dominate the right side. The buildings themselves are gray, but the lightness of their surroundings creates a sense of contrast that helps to create depth and offers viewers a sense of a three-dimensional space.

A large, dark mass occupies the left side of the composition; it is assumed to be a tree trunk. The shape creates an illusion of perspective as it appears to grow more significant into the center of the composition. At the same time, its extremities recede in perspective to create vanishing points on either side of it.

Paul Cézanne Quotes

• "We live in a rainbow of chaos."

• "Genius is the ability to renew one's emotions in daily experience."

• "Art is a harmony parallel with nature."

• "Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one's sensations."

• "A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art."

• "With an apple, I will astonish Paris."

• "There are two things in the painter, the eye and the mind; each of them should aid the other."

• "Optics, developing in us through study, teach us to see."

• "For an Impressionist to paint from nature is not to paint the subject, but to realize sensations."

• "Pure drawing is an abstraction. Drawing and color are not distinct; everything in nature is colored."

• "The painter must enclose himself within his work; he must respond not with words but with paintings."

• "We must not be content to memorize the beautiful formulas of our illustrious predecessors. Let us go out and study beautiful nature."

All quotes are from Paul Cézanne

The source of all quotes is from BrainyQuote.

About the Artist

Paul Cézanne was an influential French artist of the Post-impressionist era widely praised for painting what he felt versus what he saw. This approach to art was sacrilegious and went against the standard conventions of the time. Usually, people who go against the traditional way of doing things and invent new approaches go through a struggle with their peers.

This struggle for acceptance was no different for Paul Cézanne. In retrospect, art history will look fondly on the works and contributions of Paul Cézanne. Cézanne was considered one of the most influential artists of his time. His artistic endeavor would lead to some great artworks like Mont Sainte-Victoire, which he painted in 1900.

Paul Cézanne painted artwork represents the fundamental nature of Post-impressionism. The artist did a lot of preparation before even starting to paint. This technique is evident in his still-life paintings. He would study the subject for hours to capture the essence of its beauty. Then Paul Cezanne would paint with his heart. His still-life paintings would tell an art story to all who saw them in person. The art story would be different for everyone.

Here are Other Paintings by Paul Cézanne (my personal favorites).

• Five Bathers (1885-1887)

• Portrait of a Woman (Portrait de femme)

• Self-Portrait with a Hat by Paul Cézanne

• The Toilette (La Toilette) (ca. 1885–1890)

• The Pond (circa 1877)

• Baigneuse Debout, S’essuyant Les Cheveux (circa 1869)

• The Three Skulls (1902–1906)

• The Battle of Love (c. 1880)

• The Mont Sainte-Victoire Seen From Les Lauves (1904)

• Seated Woman in Blue

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