Millstone and Cistern under Trees, a landscape painting by Paul Cézanne, represents the artist’s unique approach to capturing nature. Completed between 1892-1894 using oil on canvas, the artwork depicts a scenic view of a country estate with an old millstone and cistern situated below tall trees.
Cézanne was known for reducing natural forms into simplified shapes including cylinders, cones, and spheres depicted in modulated colors that make use of distinct brushwork. In this artwork, the artist has represented tree trunks with cylindrical forms while spherical shapes are used in depicting rocks and bushes surrounding the millstone.
The painting showcases high-keyed yet muted colors that give visual depth to the greenery around it. Millstone And Cistern Under Trees is part of Cézanne’s later works where he moved beyond impressionism into post-impressionism, utilizing flattened planes within compositions to evoke three-dimensional spaces.
The artwork now resides at Barnes Foundation’s art museum in Philadelphia which displays an extensive collection of impressionist and post-impressionists’ art pieces.” Millstone And Cistern Under Trees” remains a notable example of how Paul Cézanne would manage to take objects from ordinary scenes and fill them with amazing life through his style of representation.
