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Study of Trees and Rocks; Study of Trees (verso)

Paul Cézanne

European Art

Here, Paul Cézanne used a layered field of graphite marks and transparent planes of watercolor to describe foliage and natural contours, with blank passages of paper heightening a sense of space and light. Watercolor strokes and graphite lines create a harmonious rhythm across the surface of the drawing.

Cézanne used drawings like these, which he made in the countryside around his home near Aix-en-Provence in the South of France, to experiment with form, structure, and space, creating images that appear at once dense and atmospheric. Many successive generations of artists were greatly influenced by the complexity and abstraction of Cézanne’s vision.
MEDIUM Graphite and watercolor on wove paper (recto); graphite (verso)
  • Place Made: France
  • DATES 1890–1895
    DIMENSIONS Sheet: 19 1/2 x 12 5/8 in. (49.5 x 32.1 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS European Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 39.16a-b
    CREDIT LINE Museum Collection Fund
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Paul Cézanne (French, 1839–1906). Study of Trees and Rocks; Study of Trees (verso), 1890–1895. Graphite and watercolor on wove paper (recto); graphite (verso) , Sheet: 19 1/2 x 12 5/8 in. (49.5 x 32.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 39.16a-b (Photo: , 39.16_PS9.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 39.16_PS9.jpg., 2019
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    Paul Cézanne (French, 1839–1906). <em>Study of Trees and Rocks; Study of Trees (verso)</em>, 1890–1895. Graphite and watercolor on wove paper (recto); graphite (verso)
, Sheet: 19 1/2 x 12 5/8 in. (49.5 x 32.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 39.16a-b (Photo: , 39.16_PS9.jpg)