Cottages 1885

Curator: Before us is Paul Cézanne's watercolor "Cottages," created around 1885, a cityscape rendered with an almost dreamlike lightness. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by how unfinished it feels, almost like a faded memory or a fleeting glimpse. There’s a kind of poignant simplicity in these bare structures. Curator: I see it as indicative of the artistic and societal shifts of the time. Consider that during the late 19th century, burgeoning industrialization reshaped the landscape and uprooted communities. Cézanne's focus on rural, almost crumbling structures might reflect a yearning for a pre-industrial past. Editor: It resonates, doesn’t it? Even the colour palette—muted browns, yellows, and faint greens—conveys a sense of nostalgic fragility, reminiscent of old photographs or the fading murals of a forgotten past. Curator: And if you consider Cézanne's process—layering watercolor washes to construct form—you see him trying to find a structure, order if you like, within something that might inherently be temporary or in transition. The visible pencil under-drawing points to a society still being shaped, redrawn if you will. Editor: You’re right, and the way light is depicted – not as a concrete presence, but more as an ethereal glow washing over the cottages, it adds a spiritual dimension to what would be mere dwellings. It suggests that home isn’t just where you live, but where memories and shared values reside. There are universal, archetypal qualities that transcend their individual setting. Curator: The understated nature also gives room to question representations of domestic life at the time, particularly through the exclusion of human subjects. Perhaps it alludes to larger forces beyond one’s individual grasp? Editor: In essence, through the layering of symbols and meanings, Cézanne's “Cottages” allows us to engage not only with an evolving artistic expression but also to engage with broader sociocultural implications and human yearning. Curator: Indeed, an art piece offering insight into the anxieties, evolutions, and longings of a community, all rendered on paper with such striking lightness.