Study of Houses

1879/1882

Paul Cezanne

Associated Names
Paul Cezanne

Artist, French, 1839 - 1906

The image displays a pencil sketch depicting buildings from a slightly elevated perspective. The horizon is implied rather than explicitly drawn, with structures rising near its line and receding into an undefined space beyond. The sketch uses simple, loose pencil strokes to create an impressionistic style, with vertical lines suggesting the form and volume of the buildings. The overall palette is monochromatic, dominated by grey tones against the off-white background of the paper. Closest to us, the vertical lines of the facades and doorways are more pronounced, while in the distance, the strokes become less defined, blending the forms into the implied horizon.

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Artwork overview

Associated Artworks

See all 71 artworks
The image shows a sketch of architectural structures and natural forms from a perspective view. The sketch is on a horizontal paper with elements extending towards the right and receding to the left. Varied pencil lines are used to depict the buildings, terrain, and foliage. The sketch is monochromatic, created with pencil on beige paper. Subtle shading and line weight variations add depth to the drawing.

The Plaster Mill (La Moulin à plâtre)

Paul Cezanne

1889

This tan-colored, fabric-covered sketchbook cover is marked with a few smudges of dark gray and white paint. The binding is to the left in this photograph. The cover is wide and has a cream-colored rope wrapped around the narrower end to our right. The weave of the fabric is visible. A few swipes of gray paint are spaced along the binding, to our left, and there are tiny touches of white, lavender purple, and brick red marking the cover.

Cezanne Sketchbook

Paul Cezanne

1877

Drawn with delicate, overlapping lines and bold, parallel lines for shading in graphite on beige-colored paper, a person hunches over a surface and writes with one hand. The person’s head, hulking shoulders, hands, and the paper on which he writes fill most of the composition. His face is close to the page, and his head tips to our right. Shading suggests eyelashes, nose, ear, and jawline. The background is blank, and the edges of the page and sketchbook are visible.

The Artist's Son Writing

Paul Cezanne

1887

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Paul Cézanne (the artist's son), Paris; Paul Guillaume, Paris; Adrien Chappuis, Tresserve, Switzerland, 1933; Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA, 1967; gift to NGA, 1991

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1991

  • NGA Anniversary 1991, 176.

1999

  • An Enduring Legacy: Masterpieces from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1999-2000.

2015

  • Victor Chocquet: Art Collector and Friend of the Impressionists Renoir, Cézanne, Monet, Manet, Sammlung Oskar Reinhart "Am Römerholz", Winterthur, 2015, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

1973

  • Chappuis, Adrien. The Drawings of Paul Cezanne. 2 vols. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society, 1973.

Inscriptions

by later hand, lower right in graphite: V; by later hand, upper right in graphite: 9

Wikidata ID

Q64618857

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