The artwork titled “Mont Sainte-Victoire” is an oil on canvas painting by Mark Tansey, created in 1987. This piece stands as an exemplar of figurative art within the Surrealism movement, measuring an expansive 100 by 155 inches (254 x 393.7 cm). The artwork currently resides in the collection of Thomas Ammann in Zurich.
In “Mont Sainte-Victoire,” the artist has constructed a monochromatic scene that ingeniously plays with the notions of reflection and illusion. Human figures are distributed throughout the artwork, partaking in various activities by the edge of a body of water. In the foreground, the reflections in the water create a mirrored reality that is both faithful to the figures and yet distorted, delivering a dream-like quality that is emblematic of Surrealism. The background features the silhouette of Mont Sainte-Victoire, which hints at a nod to the repeated examinations of the mountain by post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne. Tansey’s use of sepia tones rather than a full color palette adds historical and ethereal dimensions to the work, prompting the viewer to question the relationship between reality and representation.
