Aix-en-Provence in the footsteps of Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne was born in Aix-en-Provence in 1839, and it's fair to say that the painter was very attached to his home town. Considered to be the precursor of Post-Impressionism and Cubism, his works depict all the facets of Provençal nature: more than 80 of his paintings are of Mount Sainte-Victoire, which he considered to be his muse. He was also interested in still lif es and painted portraits and scenes of life, such as the famous Joueurs de Cartes and Les Grandes Baigneuses.

He sometimes left Aix-en-Provence, whether to join his great friend Emile Zola in Paris, to work in Marseille or to settle with his family in Gardanne. But he always ended up returning to the town where he was born. It was in his studio on the Louves hill that he produced his last paintings before his death in 1906.

When the weather was fine, Paul Cézanne went out into nature to paint the "motif", and when it rained, Paul did the same inside his studio to create still lifes. "You'd think a sugar bowl didn't have a physiognomy, a soul. But they change every day. You have to know how to pick them up, how to coax them, these gentlemen", said Paul Cézanne about his everyday objects.

As you stroll through the centre of Aix-en-Provence, look down at the ground: small studs stamped with the letter C indicate that you are on the In the Footsteps of Cézanne trail, a walk that takes you through the city as Paul Cézanne lived it. The route starts near the statue of the painter, at the Tourist Office, then heads towards the Société des Amis des Arts, where Cézanne exhibited three times. You then come to the Collège Saint Mignet, where the young Paul met Emile Zola.

The route takes you past the homes of Cézanne's sister and then his wife, before arriving at the Musée Granet art school, where he attended classes. The Saint-Pierre cemetery is the perfect place to visit Cézanne's grave, before taking a look at the house where he was born at 28 rue de l'Opéra. A few blocks further on, the Cézanne family lived there from 1878 to 1881.

Cours Mirabeau is home to theold hat shop where his father worked and his mother's home. Paul Cézanne also liked to meet his friends at the brasserie Les Deux Garçons, which was destroyed by fire in 2019. We then head back up to the Cézannes' residence from 1844 to 1850, and on to the Madeleine church, where the artist was baptised.

You will pass the home of Joachim Gasquet, who posed for one of Cézanne's most famous paintings, and then his grandmother's house, on your way toSaint-Joseph Catholic School, where Cézanne was a pupil. At 23 rue Boulegon is Cézanne's last flat, very close to thelocal school where he studied from 1844 to 1850. The cathedral of Saint-Sauveur was the venue for his funeral, and thechurch of Saint-Jean-Baptiste du Faubourg for his wedding.

To the west of Aix-en-Provence lies a pretty Provencal house, surrounded by a lush garden, built in the middle of the 18th century: the Bastide du Jas de Bouffan. In 1859, Paul Cézanne's father bought the house and moved in with his family. The young artist painted twelve large compositions directly on the walls, which were later detached. His father even set up a small studio for him under the roof, but the painter often preferred to paint in the park.

In 1899, two years after the death of their mother, Paul Cézanne and his sisters sold the house, and in 1994 the last owner bequeathed it to the town. The manor house and grounds were listed as Historic Monuments in 2001. The Bastide du Jas de Bouffan is usually open to visitors, but is currently closed for renovation. Reopening is scheduled for 2025...

The Bibémus quarries were used to construct many buildings in Aix-en-Provence, and were already virtually abandoned when Cézanne discovered them. Cézanne loved this landscape, where mineral and vegetation blend harmoniously, offering an uninterrupted view of Mont Sainte-Victoire. He painted 16 watercolours and 11 oil paintings there. He even rented a cottage there to store his canvases or to sleep in if need be.

The geometric shapes of the rocks, with their orange hues, are found in the painter's works, heralding the start of Cubism, which was to become a worldwide success. Today, you can explore the rocky plateau on a guided tour, punctuated by reproductions of Paul Cézanne's paintings, comparing the artist's original motif with the riches of this exceptional site.

The vision of Cézanne preparing his canvases at dawn in his studio before going out to paint often comes to mind for the many people who visit his studio today. In fact, this place, a reminder of the painter's presence, was closed after his death and has remained intact ever since. The studio at Les Louves, on the hill of the same name, was built to plans drawn up by Cézanne. Cézanne worked here from 1902 to 1904, and it was also a shelter and a place of meditation.

The conservation of the space, which has remained unchanged since the painter's death, makes it not a museum of works but a museum of personal objects. In all, Paul Cézanne created around ten paintings in this space, including his last " Large Bathers ".

His still-life subjects were everyday objects, which you can see when you visit the studio: a table, a chest of drawers, a stepladder, a large easel, a sofa and a few chairs... Here and there, a long-pipe stove, local earthenware, a ginger jar and an olive jar. There is also a compotier, three skulls, a small plaster "amour" attributed to François Duquesnoy, as well as prints and copies made by Cézanne of the great masters in the Louvre, such as Signorelli, Delacroix, Courbet and Rubens.

Just a few minutes' walk from Cézanne's studio, on the heights of Aix-en-Provence, the belvedere at the Terrain des Peintres offers an unrivalled view of the Sainte-Victoire mountain range. Unsurprisingly, it was a place that greatly appealed to the artist, who often came here to paint during the latter part of his life.

A path has now been laid to reach this esplanade, where nine of the eighty or so "Sainte-Victoire" reproductions that Cézanne painted during his lifetime have been installed. You can now wander through a veritable open-air museum, following in the footsteps of one of the region's greatest painters.