Paul Cézanne

Paul Cassirer, Berlin

Frau Hardt, Berlin

Frau Harries von Siemens, Berlin

Sam Salz, New York

Acquired from the above on December 26, 1952

Paris, Galerie des Beaux-Arts, La Peinture française du XIXe siècle en Suisse, 1938, no. 18 (catalogue with incorrect provenance)

Paris, Grand Palais, Cinquantième exposition de la Société des Artistes Indépendants Paul Cézanne, 1939, no. 42 (catalogued with incorrect provenance)

London, Paul Cassirer, Paul Cézanne, Watercolours, 1939, no. 45

Aix-en-Provence, Musée Granet; Nice, Musée Massenas & Musée de Grenoble, Cézanne: Peintures, Aquarelles, Dessins, 1953, no. 37

New York, Fine Arts Associates (Otto Gerson), Cézanne, 1956, no. 6, illustrated in the catalogue

New York, Wildenstein & Co., Inc., Cézanne, 1959, no. 69, illustrated in the catalogue

New York, Knoedler Galleries, Cézanne Watercolors, 1963, pp. 28-29, no. 14, illustrated in the catalogue pl. XII

Pasadena Art Museum, Cézanne Watercolors, 1967, no. 2, illustrated in the catalogue

Vollard archives no. 203

Julius Meier-Graefe, Cézanne and His Circle, Munich, 1918, illustrated pl. II

Lionello Venturi, Cézanne, son art, son oeuvre, Paris, 1936, no. 941, illustrated pl. 289

Theodore Reff, "A New Exhibition of Cézanne," Burlington Magazine, vol. CII,  London, March 1960, p. 117

John Rewald, Paul Cézanne. The Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonné, London, 1983,  catalogued p. 111, illustrated

Executed on buff-colored wove paper. T-hinged to a mat at the top corners. Quarter inch mat stain around perimeter. Sheet is slightly time darkened. There are several scattered tiny pindots of foxing, mostly near the edges. Remnants of prior mountings are visible on the verso, as well as a small sketch by the artist of a reclining female nude. This work is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The wilderness of Provence figures prominently in Cézanne's most significant landscapes, leading to his triumphant depictions of Montagne Saint-Victoire. In the present work, Cézanne depicts a chestnut tree on his family property, Jas de Bouffan. The tangled limbs of these trees were the subject of several important works, including Les marronniers du Jas de Bouffan en hiver executed at the same time as the present watercolor. With rich anthropomorphism, Cézanne imbued his depictions of these noble trees with carefully constructed strokes of purple and green tones.

Denis Coutagne describes the estate: "When the property was acquired by Louis-Auguste Cézanne in 1859, it was a country estate of almost fifteen hectares (around thirty-seven acres), largely given over to vineyards and orchards. The grounds were overlooked by a bastide, or manor house, which was a solid, three-story building with a ground plan comprising about 200-square meters. Just beside the avenue of chestnut trees that lent the property a certain air of ancestral nobility was a small artificial pond or basin, charmingly adorned with fountains in the form of lions and a dolphin. There was also a small conservatory, almost hidden among the foliage. The architecture of the farm, or rather the five or six connecting buildings known as such, located at the boundary of the present property, was of considerable interest to Cézanne as a subject for his painting" (Denis Coutagne, "The Jas de Bouffan," in Cézanne in Provence (exhibition catalogue), The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. & Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, 2006, p. 78).