Maison Maria

Along a road near Aix-en-Provence, headed toward the Château Noir where Paul Cézanne loved to paint, stood a modest building called Maison Maria. This picture from around 1895 captures it under the strong southern light, its ochre walls glowing warm against a sky Cézanne filled with quick, choppy strokes of blue. Bare, twiggy trees rise on either side like a frame, and a rust-colored road in the corner leads your gaze up the rocky slope to the house.

Cézanne had little interest in fussing over tiny details. He built his scenes from patches of color and solid, blocky shapes, so the house, the rocks, and the greenery all read like pieces fitting together. That way of thinking felt fresh and new, and it left a deep mark on younger artists like Picasso, who carried these ideas forward into Cubism.

By this point in his life, Cézanne knew exactly what he wanted from a painting and was clearly at ease with his own approach. The result is a quiet, unshowy view of a corner of Provence he passed often and plainly held dear.