“The Railway Cutting,” an oil on canvas landscape by Paul Cezanne, was created in 1870 and exemplifies the Impressionist movement’s characteristic style and sensibilities. Measuring 80 x 129 cm, the artwork is representative of Cezanne’s fascination with the natural world and is currently housed in the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, Germany. This work displays the artist’s early engagement with landscape painting, a genre he would continue to explore throughout his career.
In the artwork, viewers are presented with a vibrantly colored landscape dominated by a prominent mountain in the background. The sky above is depicted with dynamic and somewhat turbulent brushstrokes, instilling a sense of movement in the heavens. Below, the warm earth tones of the landscape suggest the mineral-rich soils of the region—a familiar characteristic of the Provençal terrain that Cezanne was fond of depicting.
The titular railway cutting is subtly included in the composition, running across the lower middle of the canvas. The presence of the cutting indicates the incursion of the industrial age into the natural landscape, a statement that Cezanne subtly embeds into the painting. A building, perhaps a farmhouse, sits atop a hill to the left, its solidity contrasting with the swaths of vegetation and the rugged textures of the earth surrounding it. Cezanne’s unique approach to capturing the essence of his subjects without adhering to strict detail is evident in this piece, as it reflects the shifting perceptions and fleeting impressions that are the hallmark of Impressionist art.
