Product Description

Paul Cézanne remains one of the world's most beloved Impressionist painters. His works are among the most popular at major museums around the world, and visitors flock each year to Aix-en-Provence, where the garden at his home and studio in Les Lauves remains meticulously maintained to honor his memory.

Now in Cézanne's Garden, award-winning garden writer and photographer Derek Fell offers a groundbreaking approach to the study of the man and his art. Setting images of Cézanne's paintings against breathtaking photographs of his garden as it exists today, Fell offers fresh insight into the man, his art, and the natural world that inspired him. Readers will see how Cézanne's unusual garden -- a wooded landscape layered with brilliant greens and punctuated by strong structural elements -- reflects the artist's innovative theories on color, texture, structure, and light.

Using Cézanne's own letters and the musings of painters who knew him, Fell draws an astonishing portrait of this socially awkward, hardworking man, complete with his favorite outdoor motifs, his favorite still-life subjects, and even his favorite flower: scabiosa. As he traces the development of the artist's career, Fell takes readers on a tour of gardens from Cézanne's early life -- the Jas de Bouffan on his family's estate and the nearby Château Noir -- as well as from his adult years, namely his garden and studio at Les Lauves, showing how it was then and how it stands now. For the practicing gardener, Fell also shows how to create a Cézanne-like garden of one's own, including how to create favorite Cézanne motifs such as vertical gardens and leaf tunnels.

Beautifully illustrated with more than one hundred original photographs and a dozen Cézanne masterpieces, Cézanne's Garden is a revealing look -- using art, photography, and reflection -- at one of the world's most cherished artists.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #505174 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Master gardener and photographer Fell recounts Cézanne's life and gardening philosophy in this latest of his artists and their gardens series (Renoir's Garden, Secrets of Monet's Garden, Van Gogh's Gardens). "It is our business as artists to convey the thrill of nature's permanence along with the elements and the appearance of all its changes," explained Cézanne. Fell deftly chronicles nature's transformation by mingling the late Impressionist's idyllic landscapes with contemporary photographs of his family's former estate, Jas de Bouffan, Cézanne's own restored hideaway, Les Lauves, as well as the soaring subject of many of the painter's works, Mt. Sainte-Victoire. Fell also briefly explores Cézanne's legacy as a seminal painter and suggests how the natural mysteries in light and form incited his innovative experiment with rustic hues, geometrical shapes and rich textures. More a delightful meandering through vivid Provençal landscapes than a full survey of the artist's work or thought-or a serious garden book-this belongs on the coffee table rather than the tool shed or library. 100 photographs and 12 illustrations.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–For Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne, the garden surrounding his home in Aix-en-Provence, France, was a major source of motivation. This beautiful book, the fourth in a series that includes Renoir's Garden (S & S, 1992), Secrets of Monet's Garden (Friedman-Fairfax, 1997), and Van Gogh's Gardens (S & S, 2001), places the renowned artist's masterpieces next to full-color, modern photographs of the garden to allow readers to explore the inner workings of Cézanne's mind. This is a superb volume for aspiring artists who want to explore color, composition, and the stories behind works of art. It could also serve as a resource for those interested in garden or landscape design, offering inspiration, tips, and techniques.–John Kiefman, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Prolific garden writer and photographer Fell takes his study of impressionist painters and their gardens one step further than most with an inquiry into both the gardening philosophy and artistic legacy of Paul Cezanne. A visit to Cezanne's family home captures the essence of the property with its massive trees, stately allees, and intimidating iron gates. Proceeding to the walled property above Aix, purchased by the artist and now a popular tourist destination, Fell effectively communicates the gardens' formal elements as contained within a naturalistic setting on a steep site offering radiant views. Fell's insights into the artist's complex spirit and sources of inspiration are equally fascinating. The handsome presentation includes photographs of the property's woodland paths, sculptural trees, and stone steps and juxtaposing images of architectural elements enlivening the grounds of Cezanne's studio and reproductions of masterful canvases on which the artist renders exalted perspectives on such simple vignettes as ivy clambering up a tree trunk to Provencal landscapes and scenes of majestic Mont Sainte-Victoire. Alice Joyce
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved