DUBLIN.- An exquisite work by Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), a foundational figure for modern art, has become part of the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland. It is the first painting by Cézanne to enter the national collection.

La Vie des Champs (“Life in the Fields”) was completed in 1877 in Cézanne’s native Provence, in Southern France. It depicts a vibrant, imaginary landscape with a woman carrying a water jug upon her head in the centre. This significant picture, which now belongs to the people of Ireland, has been purchased by the Gallery with generous and special support from the Government of Ireland and a private philanthropic donation.

The acquisition of La Vie des Champs represents a major addition to the National Gallery of Ireland’s holdings of late nineteenth-century European art. The painting’s beauty and combination of art-historical references with technical brilliance will undoubtedly make it a public favourite. Its acquisition enables the Gallery to present an important but little-known work by a significant figure in Western art, making connections to the Irish and international art already in the National Gallery of Ireland’s collection.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, commented: “I wish to commend the work of the National Gallery in securing this wonderful painting for our National Collection. La Vie des Champs is a magnificent addition to the National Gallery and will now be on free display for all to enjoy. The acquisition also highlights the important role of philanthropy for the National Gallery and hopefully will encourage other donations to our National Cultural Institutions. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to Sean Rainbird, former Director of the Gallery, for the critical role he played in securing this important work.”

Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dr Caroline Campbell commented: “This painting by Paul Cézanne, made at a turning point in his career, is a work of international importance. The National Gallery of Ireland is exceptionally grateful to the Government of Ireland for recognising the significance of this painting for the national collection and supporting the acquisition. The purchase would not have been possible without this commitment, alongside the very generous support of a great friend and supporter of the Gallery who wishes to remain anonymous. Philanthropic gifts such as these support the future of the National Gallery of Ireland, and the growth of our national collection. Cézanne’s work has particularly appealed to other artists, and I hope that this acquisition will help to inspire creativity in Ireland, as well as philanthropy”
La vie des champs is on display in Rooms 1-5 of the National Gallery of Ireland’s Millennium Wing. Entry to the national collection is free for all to learn and be inspired.

La vie des champs

La Vie des Champs (“Life in the Fields”) was completed in 1877, the year in which Cézanne decided to show his work with the Impressionists again, following an absence of three years. It dates from a pivotal moment in Cézanne’s career, and is an important early example of how he developed what became his signature style.

This picture sees Cézanne depart from the darker, violent and thickly painted manner seen in his earlier paintings, and move towards a lighter, more colourful palette, using parallel brush strokes to convey sensations, as well as fully exploiting the possibilities of perspective and distance. These characteristics became the distinctive components of Cézanne’s work, and they have been at the heart of his appeal for artists of his day and beyond. Compositionally, the painting’s focus is the silhouette of a statuesque woman carrying a water jug upon her head. She is set against a background of verdant plant life, and a flowing stream, with vibrant yellow-green grass beneath her feet. A villa perches on top of the lush hill that takes up the central horizontal section of the painting. Here Cézanne’s use of broad brushstrokes, careful gradations of tone and colour, and compression of space anticipate his later, even more radical pictorial experiments.

Although La Vie des Champs was painted in Provence, it was conceived as an imaginary scene and not a depiction of a specific landscape (unlike the National Gallery of Ireland’s only other work by Cézanne, the watercolour drawing of Montagne Sainte Victoire from Les Lauves, near Aix-en-Provence, NGI.3300, dated 1902-04). It is part of a group of paintings produced by Cézanne in the mid-1870s that translate the atmosphere of Southern France into a timeless vision of Arcadia. These pictures owe a debt to the work of earlier French painters, including Nicolas Poussin and Claude Lorrain, who are represented in the National Gallery of Ireland’s collection. Importantly, La Vie des Champs demonstrates how Cézanne was both radical and inspired by the past.

La Vie des Champs was first owned by Cézanne’s champion, the renowned Parisian art dealer Ambroise Vollard (1866-1939). It has not been exhibited publicly since 1996, when it featured in the Philadelphia showing of the major touring exhibition, ‘Cézanne’, organised by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Tate, and the Grand Palais, Paris.

About Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne was born in Aix-en-Provence in 1839. The eldest of three children, he grew up in a well-to-do family. Cézanne first studied literature and law in accordance with his father’s wishes, but soon abandoned his legal career to study painting. He moved to Paris and studied at the Académie Suisse from 1862.

In many respects, Cézanne was the first artist to explore abstraction in Western painting. In doing so, he paved the way for a new representation of perspective and space. Reflecting on Cézanne’s career, Henri Matisse referred to him ‘the father of us all’, acknowledging his impact on the artists who succeeded him. Cézanne gained positive attention relatively late in his artistic career. A major turning point came when Ambroise Vollard staged his first solo exhibition of Cézanne’s work in 1895, when the artist was fifty-six years old, providing an opportunity for him to show his true achievements.