The artwork “Factories Near Mont de Cengle” by Paul Cezanne, dated circa 1870, is an oil on canvas piece reflective of the Impressionist movement. Categorized within the landscape genre, the artwork currently resides within a private collection.
As for the painting itself, it depicts an expansive view of a countryside where the natural landscape and the industrial elements coexist. The composition is divided into several planes. In the foreground, lush greenery and vegetation provide a vibrant contrast to the tawny, earthy tones of the middle ground, where the titular factories are situated. A sizeable red chimney pierces the skyline, billowing smoke that drifts lazily upward, mingling with the soft azure of the sky. Beyond the factories, the rolling hills of Mont de Cengle rise up, their contours shaded in hues of green and brown under the serene sky.
The manner in which Cezanne has applied the paint is characteristic of the Impressionist style, with brisk, visible brushstrokes that imbue the scene with a sense of immediacy and vitality. There is a harmonious blend of nature and industry, a theme that artists of the time often explored as the modern world began to take shape. Despite the industrial subject matter, the artwork maintains an air of tranquility, as the natural world appears undisturbed by the advances of human progress.
