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In February 1904, Emile Bernard photographed Cézanne in his studio. He returned a year later:
There was a large canvas of female bathing nudes, still sitting on the mechanical easel he had just had put in. I’m ashamed to admit, said Cézanne, that I’ve been working on it since 1894. I wanted to work the paint physically, like Courbet.
from an article in La Grande Revue, 1907
The studio where the late masterpieces were painted In 1901 Cézanne purchased a small plot of land planted with olive and fig trees beside the Verdon canal. The main part of the property was an olive grove bordering on a hunting estate, not far from the road called the “chemin des Lauves”. Cézanne had the existing hut pulled down and a studio of the size he required built to his own designs in its place. During this last period of his life, the artist frequently received visits.
A living place Cézanne’s last studio in Aix is a place haunted by memory, where the spirit of the master lingers on. His equipment and the objects he took for models are still there, combining with other mementoes and the garden to recreate the living, intimate atmosphere of his presence. Opened to the public several years ago, Cézanne’s studio is a popular attraction, especially with visitors from abroad. Various cultural initiatives are regularly organized: “Painting Nights” in the summer, with works by Cézanne projected onto the outer walls of the studio, projects by contemporary artists and photographic exhibitions in the garden, gastronomic events.
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