Young Girl with a Doll 1902

Paul Cézanne painted this oil on canvas titled, *Young Girl with a Doll*, sometime in the late 19th century. There’s something so tender and tentative about the way Cézanne approaches the paint here, laying down these hesitant, blocky marks. Look at the girl’s dress, how he builds up the form with layers of blue-grey tones. It's all about process, a careful accumulation of touches that somehow coalesce into a solid form. Check out the way the child cradles the doll. The paint is so thick there, it's like a little sculpture. He’s not trying to trick us into thinking this is real, you know? It's paint, and he's relishing in the physicality of it all. The way he models form reminds me of Giotto, who also understood how to create volume and weight with simple means. Ultimately, it's this honest approach to materials that makes his paintings so compelling, each brushstroke a testament to the ongoing conversation between the artist and the canvas.