In this artwork, how is the History discussed?
Camille Pissarro, whom Cézanne came to see as both friend and mentor, moved to Pontoise, a small country town northwest of Paris, in 1872 after his previous country residence in Louveciennes, west of Paris, was stripped of all its contents while he was in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War two years earlier. The following year, Cézanne moved to neighboring Auvers-sur-Oise, where he and Pissarro lived within walking distance of each other, and often painted side by side in plein air. They painted the same subjects, but in different and distinctive works.The two were trying to capture the "perception of sensation" in their work. Cézanne's style, especially in his landscapes, reflected the influence of his fellow artist, even as the two preferred different techniques—Pissarro dabbing while Cézanne daubed or smeared, according to a local resident who watched them both paint. Cézanne began using brighter colors than he had previously, with less stark contrasts.A catalogue to a 2006 joint exhibition of their work from this period at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris calls the two Impressionism's "painters of the earth", counterparts to its two "painters of water", Claude Monet and Alfred Sisley. But "with Cézanne the spectator is openly invited to observe the way he portrays surfaces" the catalog observes. "Shapes are simplified and each brushstroke is amplified. His paintings are intense reflections of his method."View of Auvers-sur-Oise was painted later, in 1879–80. By this time, Cézanne was preparing to leave Paris and return to his native Aix-en-Provence, where he continued painting in this style, including similar landscapes, moving toward Post-Impressionism. Ashmolean Museum director Christopher Brown describes the painting as important to understanding the artist's career, showing him transitioning from his early work to the mature style he brought to well-known later works.
Franco-Prussian War Impressionism landscape Pontoise Camille Pissarro Musée d'Orsay Ashmolean Museum Post-Impressionism Aix-en-Provence Claude Monet Paris plein air Christopher Brown Alfred Sisley Auvers-sur-Oise Louveciennes