Paul Cezanne – House of Pere Lacroix National Gallery of Art (Washington)

The composition presents a rural dwelling nestled within dense foliage. The house itself is rendered in muted tones of white and grey, its form somewhat simplified and block-like. A steeply pitched roof, colored with shades of red and orange, dominates the upper portion of the canvas, providing a visual anchor.
Here we see an intentional flattening of perspective; spatial depth isnt achieved through traditional linear techniques but rather through variations in color intensity and brushstroke density. The vegetation surrounding the house is rendered with vigorous, short strokes of green, yellow, and brown, creating a sense of abundant growth and obscuring much of the structure’s lower levels. This dense layering contributes to an overall feeling of enclosure and intimacy.
The artist employed a palette largely confined to earth tones and greens, punctuated by the warm hues of the roof. The brushwork is visible throughout, contributing to a textural quality that emphasizes the materiality of the paint itself. Theres a deliberate lack of sharp outlines; forms bleed into one another, suggesting an observation of nature’s organic processes rather than a precise representation.
Subtly, the painting conveys a sense of tranquility and permanence. The house appears solid and enduring against the backdrop of the natural world. However, the obscured view and the dense vegetation also suggest a degree of isolation or perhaps a deliberate withdrawal from public life. The absence of human figures reinforces this feeling of quiet solitude.
The composition’s structure – the strong horizontal line of the roof contrasting with the verticality of the trees – creates a visual tension that is resolved by the overall harmony of color and texture. Its not merely a depiction of a house; its an exploration of form, light, and the relationship between human construction and the natural environment.