Cézanne and the Railway (4): His Railway Subjects in Médan, Pontoise, Gardanne, and L’Estaque（by Tomoki Akimaru)

Fig. 1　Paul Cézanne, The Catsle of Médan, c. 1879.

As we have seen in the previous sections, Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) painted a railway station in The Ferry at Bonnières (1866), and was the earliest French Impressionist painter to tackle the subject of railways.

In his hometown of Aix-en-Provence, Cézanne used steam trains on a daily basis from his youth, and even rode electric trains in his later years. Reflecting this, from the beginning to the end of his career, he produced a large number of paintings of various railway subjects in Aix-en-Provence, including cuttings, signals, tracks, bridges, and locomotives.

In addition, Cézanne used railways in areas other than Bonnières and Aix-en-Provence, and painted various railway subjects. Here we will look at railway paintings he painted in Médan, Pontoise, Gardanne, and L’Estaque.

Fig. 2　Paul Cézanne, The Catsle of Médan, c. 1879.

Fig. 3　A photograph of the scene in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2
photographed by Émile Zola
in the late 19th century.

Fig. 4　A photograph of the Paris-Le Havre line in front of Zola’s house
photographed by Émile Zola
in the late 19th century.

Fig. 5　A photograph of a railway train seen from Zola’s house
photographed by Émile Zola
in the late 19th century.

Fig. 6　A self-portrait
photographed by Émile Zola
in the late 19th century.

First, Cézanne painted the scenery along the railway line in Médan, a farming village about 25 kilometers from Paris. In fact, the railroad tracks are hidden in his oil painting The Castle of Médan (c. 1879) (Fig. 1) and watercolor The Castle of Médan (c. 1879) (Fig. 2).

These two paintings are believed to have been created around 1879, when Cézanne visited the castle-like mansion that his close friend Émile Zola had purchased in Médan. Interestingly, Zola, a well-known train enthusiast, photographed the steam locomotives speeding by with his hobby camera from this house, which faced the railroad tracks of the Paris-Le Havre line (Fig.3-Fig. 6).

After this visit, Cézanne wrote to Zola on June 23, 1879, noting that he waved to Zola from the moving train as he approached the mansion. To Zola, the train would have looked just like the photo above (Fig. 5).

I arrived without any catastrophe at the station at Triel and my arm, waved across the door as I passed in front of your castle, must have revealed to you my presence in in the train―which I didn’t miss (1).

As can be seen from these, these two paintings, although at first glance they appear to be simple natural scenes, are in fact man-made scenes with steam locomotives passing horizontally across the center of the picture. In other words, the nature represented by trees, bank, and river is contrasted with the train, which embodies modernity despite its absence.

Fig. 7　Paul Cézanne, The Bridge and Waterfall at Pontoise, 1881.

Fig. 8　A photograph of the scene in Fig. 7.
(photographer and date unknown)

Cézanne also painted a railroad bridge in Pontoise, a country town about 30 kilometers from Paris. In fact, in The Bridge and Waterfall at Pontoise (1881) (Fig. 7), a railroad bridge on the Paris-Lille line is visible and hidden.

In this painting, Cézanne depicted the waterfall and bridge of the Oise River, which flows through Pontoise, as parallel lines in the center of the picture. It is clear that the main focus of this work is the figurative interest of these parallel lines.

Noteworthy here is the fact that Cézanne superimposed the pedestrian bridge and the railroad bridge, as can be recognized in the photograph of this site (Fig. 8). In other words, here again, Cézanne contrasts nature and modernity with the pedestrian bridge and the railroad bridge, or with the trees, road, river, waterfall, and absent train.

Furthermore, a letter to Camille Pissarro, dated December 11, 1872, indicates that Cézanne used the train to travel between Pontoise and Auvers-sur-Oise, where he lived at the time.

I take up Lucien’s pen at a time when the train should have been taking me to my Penates. I am telling you in a round-about way that I have missed my train (2).

Fig. 9　Paul Cézanne, Gardanne, Old Bridge, 1885-86.

Fig. 10　A photograph of the scene in Fig. 8
photographed by Erle Loran
in the late 1920s.

Moreover, Cézanne also painted a railway bridge in Gardanne, a neighboring town about 10 kilometers from Aix-en-Provence. In fact, despite the subtitle “Old Bridge” in Gardanne, Old Bridge (1885-86) (Fig. 9), as can be seen from the site photo (Fig. 10), he depicts the railway bridge on the Aix-Marseille line.

Like this, Cézanne’s railway paintings are difficult to recognize at first glance as depicting a railway-related subject, not only from the painting itself but also from the titles. In this case, rather than focusing on the railway bridge, the picture contrasts nature and modernity by juxtaposing the railway bridge with the surrounding trees.

At the time this work was painted, Cézanne frequently visited Gardanne. For example, in a letter to Émile Zola dated August 20, 1885, he told, “I am at Aix and I go to Gardanne every day (3),” and in a letter to Émile Zola dated August 25, 1885, he wrote, “I go to Gardanne every day and in the evening I come back to the country Aix (4).” Considering the time and distance, there is no doubt that Cézanne used the Aix-Marseille line to travel from Aix to Gardanne.

Fig. 11　Paul Cézanne, The Bay of Marseille seen from L’Estaque, 1878-79.

Fig. 12　A photograph of the scene in Fig. 11
photographed by Keisuke Kumakiri.
(date unknown)

And, Cézanne also painted railway scenes at L’Estaque. In fact, it can be seen from the on-site photograph that two of the parallel black lines in the lower right of The Bay of Marseille seen from L’Estaque (1878-79) (Fig. 11) are railway tracks that run through L’Estaque (Fig. 12).

In addition, railway tracks run along the coast of the Bay of Marseille, and there are many railway bridges around L’Estaque (Fig. 13). Cézanne also painted such railway bridge in The Viaduct at L’Estaque (1879-82) (Fig. 14) and The Viaduct at L’Estaque (1882) (Fig. 15).

In these works, too, the railway subject is depicted not explicitly but implicitly, creating a contrast between the abundant nature and hidden modernity.

It is evident from a letter to Émile Zola dated May 24, 1883, that Cézanne’s daily life was closely connected with the steam railway, as he reported that he had rented a house close to the L’Estaque station.

I have rented a little house and garden at l’Estaque just above the station (5).

Fig. 13　A railway bridge at L’Estaque
photographed by Ignis
in 2006.

Fig. 14　Paul Cézanne, The Viaduct at L’Estaque, 1879-82.

Fig. 15　Paul Cézanne, The Viaduct at L’Estaque, 1882.

As we have seen, a characteristic of Cezanne’s railway paintings is that to someone who has not actually seen the scene, it is unclear that the railway subject is depicted in the landscape. Furthermore, rather than focusing on the steam railway alone, they show a complex character that contrasts the idyllic nature with the modern era represented by the steam railway.

In terms of forms, although no one has pointed this out before, for example, in The Castles of Médan (Fig. 1) and The Castles of Médan (Fig. 2), the river, banks, and ridgelines that connect the left and right sides of the screen, as well as the brushstrokes that are repeated horizontally – so-called Cézanne’s unique “constructive strokes” – can be said to be influenced by the horizontal movement of the railway train.

Notes

(1) Paul Cézanne, Correspondance, recueillie, annotée et préfacée par John Rewald, Paris, 1937; nouvelle édition révisée et augmentée, Paris, 1978; English translated by Marguerite Kay, New York, 1941; new edition revised and enlarged, New York, 1976; First Da Capo Press edition, New York, 1995, p. 180.

(2) Ibid., p. 136.

(3) Ibid., p. 220.

(4) Ibid., p. 221.

(5) Ibid., p. 209.

Fig. 3-Fig. 6 were quated from Emile Zola, Photograph, Eine Autobiographie in 480 Bildern, herausgegeben und zusammengestellt von François-Emile Zola und Massin, München: Schirmer/Mosel, 1979.