“Roofs in L’Estaque,” created in 1882 by Paul Cézanne, is a watercolor on paper artwork depicting a cityscape. The piece, which is part of the Post-Impressionism movement, measures 310 x 475 cm and is located at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Netherlands. This artwork showcases Cézanne’s talent in capturing the essence of a scene with great economy of detail.
The artwork features a muted palette of blues, yellows, and earthy tones that blend together to form a composition of rooftop views layered upon each other. Broad, fluid brushstrokes give life to the various structures, allowing a glimpse of the natural setting beyond the crowded architectural forms. There’s a noticeable lack of fine detail, emphasizing the use of color and form over detailed representation, a characteristic of the Post-Impressionist style that Cézanne helped to pioneer. The sky and distant horizon are rendered with soft washes of color, contributing to an almost dreamlike atmosphere. Despite its seemingly spontaneous execution, the composition retains a sense of structure, reflecting Cézanne’s exploration of underlying geometric forms within the landscape, a theme that would become pivotal in the later development of cubism.
