← Paul Cézanne

The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene)

Original title: The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene)

Artist

Paul Cézanne

Date

ca. 1875

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

21 3/4 x 32 1/4 in. (55.2 x 81.9 cm)

Credit line

Gift of Heather Daniels and Katharine Whild, and Purchase, The Annenberg Foundation Gift, Gift of Joanne Toor Cummings, by exchange, Wolfe Fund, and Ellen Lichtenstein and Joanne Toor Cummings Bequests, Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Bernhard Gift, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Rodgers, and Wolfe Fund, by exchange, and funds from various donors, 2001

kurzbeschreibung

A group of people rests along a riverbank, caught by Paul Cézanne around 1875 in oil on canvas. The picture measures 55.2 x 81.9 cm and brings together figure studies with a landscape whose loose handling recalls Impressionism.

Description

Several figures stand and sit in traditional dress, some wearing hats or holding open parasols. A few have fish with them or move close to the water, which points to fishing. Behind them, trees and bushes line the bank, and above that a cloudy sky opens up. The arrangement gains tension from the differing poses and activities of the figures.

Context

During the 1870s Cézanne worked intensively on painting outdoors and on integrating figures into landscapes. The Impressionist approach, with strong colours and loose brushwork, reflects his exchanges at the time with painters such as Camille Pissarro. The subject of fishermen on the bank takes up a theme that often portrayed leisure by the water in the art of that period.

Impact

The image gives off a calm but not rigid mood and draws the eye into the summer river scene. Out of the combination of everyday activity and idyllic surroundings comes a melancholy tone characteristic of Cézanne's early works.

Technique

Cézanne worked in oil paint on canvas, using short, clearly visible brushstrokes typical of the Impressionist style. The vivid colours are applied in several layers to draw out light and shadow under the open sky. At 55.2 x 81.9 cm the canvas remains relatively small, suggesting a study or a private work.

AI-generated description text

Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)