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A Shed (Une cabane)
Maker
(artist)
1839-1906
1839-1906
Title
A Shed (Une cabane)
Date of Production
circa 1880
Medium
graphite and watercolour on wove paper (see Comments), with slight acid burns from a former mount
Dimensions
Height: 31.4 cm
Width: 47.6 cm
Width: 47.6 cm
Accession Number
D.1932.SC.109
Mode of Acquisition
Samuel Courtauld, gift, 1932
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
Not currently on display
Keywords
Label Text
Cézanne first publicly exhibited a handful of his watercolour in April 1877 at the Third Impressionist exhibition in Paris. After a phase of working primarily in bodycolour or opaque watercolour, he turned his attention to detailed drawings with the merest hint of transparent watercolour. In this work, dappled sunlight falls across a garden shed. The vertical and horizontal hatching provides a strong linear framework, enriched only occasionally by small accents of colour.
Notes
The watercolours by Cézanne in Samuel Courtauld’s collection cover most of the chronological span of the artist’s most sustained engagement with the medium; this sheet is generally considered the earliest. Its subject, however, has long eluded exact identification. The low, ramshackle building partly obscured by dense vegetation has been variously characterised as a cottage, a door in a garden wall, a shed and an outhouse. Whatever the case, this motif is unique in Cézanne’s oeuvre and its site has not yet been discovered, although it is likely to have been situated on the Cézanne family estate of the Jas de Bouffan in Aix-en-Provence.
The uncertainty over the identity of the subject is underpinned by Cézanne’s ambiguous handling of spatial recession; it is unclear which areas of the structure are meant to recede and which are parallel to the picture plane. The use of diagonal hatching to indicate projection or recession is also inconsistent, as is made clear in an infrared reflectogram that reveals the graphite underdrawing in those areas most heavily touched with watercolour. In some areas, vigorous hatching projects forms into strong relief, as with the vine to the right of the door; in others, it serves to flatten forms, such as the section of wall at left. The hatching and the relatively broad and even application of watercolour seem instead intended to create a unified, firmly structured two-dimensional plane rather than an illusionistic rendering of the motif.
Cézanne’s use of colour here is rather restrained; it is largely limited to viridian green and blue-grey (of varying strengths), with some yellow ochre to render shadows as well as the planks of the wooden door. For the most part, the watercolour accentuates the design, but in some instances it takes on a life of its own, especially in the vivid touches of green in the foreground. The even distribution of the watercolour is consistent with Cézanne’s style around 1880, when he was definitively abandoning Impressionism and striking out in a new direction that favoured the construction of what he famously termed ‘a harmony parallel to nature’ rather than attempting to capture a subjective impression of his surroundings.
Provenance
by descent to the artist's son, Paul Cézanne, Paris (1872-1947); purchased from him by Ambroise Vollard, Paris (1867-1939), 1907 and immediately sold to Bernheim-Jeune (Paris) to offset the cost [their blue inventory number on the verso]; acquired there by Paul Cassirer (Berlin), 1907; purchased there by Gottlieb Friedrich Reber, Barmen (1880-1959), 5 April 1913 [according to online catalogue raisonné; we do know, from a letter in the file for SC.110, that Reber bought that drawing from Bernheim-Jeune on that day]; Paul Rosenberg (Paris), by January 1924 [as published in Bernard 1924]; purchased there by Samuel Courtauld, London (1876-1947), n.d.; Courtauld Gift 1932
Exhibition History
The Courtauld Collection. A Vision for Impressionism, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, 20/02/2019-17/06/2019
Impressionism: pastels, watercolours, drawings, Albertina, Vienna, 09/02/2012-13/05/2012
The Courtauld Cézannes, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 26/06/2008-05/10/2008 ...More
Cézanne in Britain, National Gallery, London, 04/10/2006-07/01/2007
Cezanne Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 04/06/2003-31/07/2003
Cezanne, Il padre dei moderni, Risorgimento, Rome, 07/03/2002-21/07/2002
Classic Cezanne, Sydney, Australia, 28/11/1998-28/02/1999
The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 14/06/1998-21/09/1998
The Courtauld Collection, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, 26/12/1997-12/05/1998
Modern Art in Britain 1910-1914, Barbican Art Gallery, London, 20/02/1997-26/05/1997
Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Related Drawings from the
Courtauld Collections, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 11/05/1988-04/09/1988
Watercolour and pencil drawings by Paul Cézanne, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne and Hayward Gallery, London, 1973
Exposition Cézanne: Tableaux - Aquarelles - Dessins, Pavillon de Vendôme, Aix-en-Provence, 1961
Paul Cézanne, Belvedere, Vienna, 1961
Drawings and Engravings from the Courtauld Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, December 1959-April 1960
Impressionistes de la Collection Courtauld de Londres, Orangerie, Paris, 1955
Landscape in French Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1949-1950
Samuel Courtauld memorial exhibition, Tate Gallery, London, 1948
Cézanne watercolours, Tate Gallery, London, 1946
Cezanne, Arts Council & unknown venues & England, 1946
Leicester Art Gallery, 22/03/1936-21/04/1936
Exposition Paul Cézanne (au profit de la caisse du monument Cézanne) [no catalogue issued], Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 03/03/1924-24/03/1924
Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition, Grafton Galleries, London, 1912
Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Kunstsalon Emil Richter, Dresden, 1908 (Apr. - May)
X. Jahrgang, 1907/1908, I. Ausstellung, Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 30/09/1907-18/10/1907
Les aquarelles de Cézanne, Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 17/06/1907-29/06/1907
Cézanne Aquarelle, Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 1907 ...Less
Impressionism: pastels, watercolours, drawings, Albertina, Vienna, 09/02/2012-13/05/2012
The Courtauld Cézannes, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 26/06/2008-05/10/2008 ...More
Cézanne in Britain, National Gallery, London, 04/10/2006-07/01/2007
Cezanne Watercolours, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 04/06/2003-31/07/2003
Cezanne, Il padre dei moderni, Risorgimento, Rome, 07/03/2002-21/07/2002
Classic Cezanne, Sydney, Australia, 28/11/1998-28/02/1999
The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 14/06/1998-21/09/1998
The Courtauld Collection, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, 26/12/1997-12/05/1998
Modern Art in Britain 1910-1914, Barbican Art Gallery, London, 20/02/1997-26/05/1997
Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Related Drawings from the
Courtauld Collections, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 11/05/1988-04/09/1988
Watercolour and pencil drawings by Paul Cézanne, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne and Hayward Gallery, London, 1973
Exposition Cézanne: Tableaux - Aquarelles - Dessins, Pavillon de Vendôme, Aix-en-Provence, 1961
Paul Cézanne, Belvedere, Vienna, 1961
Drawings and Engravings from the Courtauld Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, London, December 1959-April 1960
Impressionistes de la Collection Courtauld de Londres, Orangerie, Paris, 1955
Landscape in French Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1949-1950
Samuel Courtauld memorial exhibition, Tate Gallery, London, 1948
Cézanne watercolours, Tate Gallery, London, 1946
Cezanne, Arts Council & unknown venues & England, 1946
Leicester Art Gallery, 22/03/1936-21/04/1936
Exposition Paul Cézanne (au profit de la caisse du monument Cézanne) [no catalogue issued], Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 03/03/1924-24/03/1924
Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition, Grafton Galleries, London, 1912
Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Kunstsalon Emil Richter, Dresden, 1908 (Apr. - May)
X. Jahrgang, 1907/1908, I. Ausstellung, Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 30/09/1907-18/10/1907
Les aquarelles de Cézanne, Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 17/06/1907-29/06/1907
Cézanne Aquarelle, Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 1907 ...Less
Literature
Guercino, Anna Maria Bava, and Gelsomina Spione, Guercino: Il Mestiere Del Pittore, Milan, 2024.
pp. 64
fig. 1, p. 64
Serres, Karen (ed.), The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism, Paul Holberton Publishing 2019
no. 33, p. 196
Ill. p. 197
Christopher Lloyd, 'Paul Cézanne: Drawings and Watercolours', London 2015
p. 213
Ill. no. 165, p. 238 ...More
Echte, Bernhard and Feilchenfeldt, Walter, 'Kollektionen Paul Cézanne, Curt Herrmann, Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch: 30. September bis 18. Oktober 1907.' Kunstsalon Cassirer: Die Ausstellungen 1905-1908. vol. 3, 'Den Sinnen ein magischer Rausch', Wädenswil 2013
p. 517
Ill. repr.
Impressionism on Paper - Drawings from Manet to Van Gogh, Albertina, Vienna, 2012
cat. no. 9
Ill. p. 86
The Courtauld Cézannes, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 2008
cat. no. 12
Ill. repr. and Ill. 64 on p. 116 (IRR)
Cézanne in Britain, National Gallery, London, 2006-07
cat. no. 22
Ill. no. 22
dated c. 1880
Cezanne, Il padre dei moderni, Risorgimento, Rome, 2002
p. 132
Ill. p. 133
Kropmanns, Peter, and Uwe Fleckner, 'Von kontinentaler Bedeutung: Gottlieb Friedrich Reber und seine Sammlungen' in 'Die Moderne und ihre Sammler: französische Kunst in deutschem Privatbesitz vom Kaiserreich zur Weimarer Republik', Berlin 2001
p. 388
Classic Cezanne, Sydney, Australia, 1998-99
cat. no. 35
and p. 106
Ill. repr.
The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1998
cat. no. 35
Ill. p. 75
John House, Impressionism for England: Samuel Courtauld as Patron and Collector, Courtauld Institute Galleries 1994
no. 71
Ill. p. 185
Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Related Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1988
cat. no. 4
Ill. p. 4
dated c. 1880
Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
cat. no. 98
Ill. p. 104
John Rewald, 'Paul Cézanne: The Watercolours', London 1983
no. 102
Ill. repr.
dated c. 1880
Watercolour and pencil drawings by Paul Cézanne, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne and Hayward Gallery, London, 1973
cat. no. 42
Ill. repr.
Siblík, Jiří, Paul Cézanne. Kresby (Paul Cézanne. Dessins), Prague, 1968 and Paris 1972
Ill. no. 57
Andersen, Wayne V., 'A Cézanne drawing after Couture' in 'Master Drawings', 1963; 1, 4
p. 44
dated 1880-85
Andersen, W.V., 'Watercolour in Cézanne's artistic process' in 'Art International', 25 May 1963
p. 25
dated 1880-82
Exposition Cézanne: Tableaux - Aquarelles - Dessins, Pavillon de Vendôme, Aix-en-Provence, 1961
cat. no. 21
Paul Cézanne, Belvedere, Vienna, 1961
cat. no. 47
as 'Garden Wall'
Drawings and engravings from the Courtauld Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, Dec. 1959 - Apr. 1960, 1959-1960
cat. no. 15
Ill. pl. 4
Neumayer, Alfred, Cézanne drawings, New York 1958
no. 67 and p. 27
Ill. pl. 67
as 'The Cottage' dated c. 1880, erroneously as black chalk
Impressionistes de la Collection Courtauld de Londres, Orangerie, Paris, 1955
cat. no. 70
Ill. pl. 49
Cooper, Douglas, The Courtauld Collection, London 1954
no. 109
Ill. pl. 71
erroneously as black chalk; dated c. 1880
Tate Britain, London, Paul Cézanne: An Exhibition of Watercolours, 1946
pp. 3-4, no. 3
As 'A Garden Wall'
Venturi, Lionello, Cézanne: son art, son oeuvre. 2 vols., Paris 1936
no. 837
Ill. repr.
as 'Le mur au jardin', dated 1872-77
Home House Trustees, A catalogue of the pictures and other works of art at Home House, 20 Portman Square, London, London 1935
no. 23
erroneously as charcoal
Bernard, Emile, 'Les aquarelles de Cézanne' in 'L'amour de l'art', Jan. 1924 - pp. 33-36; 5
Ill. p. 36
as with Paul Rosenberg
Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition, Grafton Galleries, London, 1912
cat. no. 167
as 'Maisons', lent by Bernheim-Jeune
Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Kunstsalon Emil Richter, Dresden, 1908 (Apr. - May)
cat. no. 49
as 'Häuser', tentatively ID's by online cat. rais. as a match for this drawing
Cézanne Aquarelle, Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 1907
cat. no. 65?
as 'Häuser', tentatively ID's by online cat. rais. as a match for this drawing
Les aquarelles de Cézanne, Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1907
cat. no. 73?
Feilchenfeldt, Walter, Jayne Warman and David Nash, The paintings, watercolours and drawings of Paul Cezanne. An online catalogue raisonné, https://www.cezannecatalogue.com/catalogue/index.php
FWN 1082
Ill. repr.
dated c. 1880 ...Less
pp. 64
fig. 1, p. 64
Serres, Karen (ed.), The Courtauld Collection: A Vision for Impressionism, Paul Holberton Publishing 2019
no. 33, p. 196
Ill. p. 197
Christopher Lloyd, 'Paul Cézanne: Drawings and Watercolours', London 2015
p. 213
Ill. no. 165, p. 238 ...More
Echte, Bernhard and Feilchenfeldt, Walter, 'Kollektionen Paul Cézanne, Curt Herrmann, Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch: 30. September bis 18. Oktober 1907.' Kunstsalon Cassirer: Die Ausstellungen 1905-1908. vol. 3, 'Den Sinnen ein magischer Rausch', Wädenswil 2013
p. 517
Ill. repr.
Impressionism on Paper - Drawings from Manet to Van Gogh, Albertina, Vienna, 2012
cat. no. 9
Ill. p. 86
The Courtauld Cézannes, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 2008
cat. no. 12
Ill. repr. and Ill. 64 on p. 116 (IRR)
Cézanne in Britain, National Gallery, London, 2006-07
cat. no. 22
Ill. no. 22
dated c. 1880
Cezanne, Il padre dei moderni, Risorgimento, Rome, 2002
p. 132
Ill. p. 133
Kropmanns, Peter, and Uwe Fleckner, 'Von kontinentaler Bedeutung: Gottlieb Friedrich Reber und seine Sammlungen' in 'Die Moderne und ihre Sammler: französische Kunst in deutschem Privatbesitz vom Kaiserreich zur Weimarer Republik', Berlin 2001
p. 388
Classic Cezanne, Sydney, Australia, 1998-99
cat. no. 35
and p. 106
Ill. repr.
The Courtauld Collection: Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, Art Gallery of Ontario, 1998
cat. no. 35
Ill. p. 75
John House, Impressionism for England: Samuel Courtauld as Patron and Collector, Courtauld Institute Galleries 1994
no. 71
Ill. p. 185
Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Related Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1988
cat. no. 4
Ill. p. 4
dated c. 1880
Mantegna to Cezanne: Master Drawings from the Courtauld, British Museum, London, 1983
cat. no. 98
Ill. p. 104
John Rewald, 'Paul Cézanne: The Watercolours', London 1983
no. 102
Ill. repr.
dated c. 1880
Watercolour and pencil drawings by Paul Cézanne, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne and Hayward Gallery, London, 1973
cat. no. 42
Ill. repr.
Siblík, Jiří, Paul Cézanne. Kresby (Paul Cézanne. Dessins), Prague, 1968 and Paris 1972
Ill. no. 57
Andersen, Wayne V., 'A Cézanne drawing after Couture' in 'Master Drawings', 1963; 1, 4
p. 44
dated 1880-85
Andersen, W.V., 'Watercolour in Cézanne's artistic process' in 'Art International', 25 May 1963
p. 25
dated 1880-82
Exposition Cézanne: Tableaux - Aquarelles - Dessins, Pavillon de Vendôme, Aix-en-Provence, 1961
cat. no. 21
Paul Cézanne, Belvedere, Vienna, 1961
cat. no. 47
as 'Garden Wall'
Drawings and engravings from the Courtauld Collection, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, Dec. 1959 - Apr. 1960, 1959-1960
cat. no. 15
Ill. pl. 4
Neumayer, Alfred, Cézanne drawings, New York 1958
no. 67 and p. 27
Ill. pl. 67
as 'The Cottage' dated c. 1880, erroneously as black chalk
Impressionistes de la Collection Courtauld de Londres, Orangerie, Paris, 1955
cat. no. 70
Ill. pl. 49
Cooper, Douglas, The Courtauld Collection, London 1954
no. 109
Ill. pl. 71
erroneously as black chalk; dated c. 1880
Tate Britain, London, Paul Cézanne: An Exhibition of Watercolours, 1946
pp. 3-4, no. 3
As 'A Garden Wall'
Venturi, Lionello, Cézanne: son art, son oeuvre. 2 vols., Paris 1936
no. 837
Ill. repr.
as 'Le mur au jardin', dated 1872-77
Home House Trustees, A catalogue of the pictures and other works of art at Home House, 20 Portman Square, London, London 1935
no. 23
erroneously as charcoal
Bernard, Emile, 'Les aquarelles de Cézanne' in 'L'amour de l'art', Jan. 1924 - pp. 33-36; 5
Ill. p. 36
as with Paul Rosenberg
Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition, Grafton Galleries, London, 1912
cat. no. 167
as 'Maisons', lent by Bernheim-Jeune
Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Kunstsalon Emil Richter, Dresden, 1908 (Apr. - May)
cat. no. 49
as 'Häuser', tentatively ID's by online cat. rais. as a match for this drawing
Cézanne Aquarelle, Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 1907
cat. no. 65?
as 'Häuser', tentatively ID's by online cat. rais. as a match for this drawing
Les aquarelles de Cézanne, Bernheim-Jeune, Paris, 1907
cat. no. 73?
Feilchenfeldt, Walter, Jayne Warman and David Nash, The paintings, watercolours and drawings of Paul Cezanne. An online catalogue raisonné, https://www.cezannecatalogue.com/catalogue/index.php
FWN 1082
Ill. repr.
dated c. 1880 ...Less
Inscriptions
Watermark: none.
Label: Now missing, but recorded in correspondence in the file: Lefevre label (correspondence from Lefevre Gallery in file, dated 1934, states they have no record of the drawing passing through their hands, and they believe it was sent there to either have the frame repaired or new glass installed).
Inscription: Verso: lower left corner, blue crayon, underlined, Vollard/Bernheim Jeune inventory number: "66"; lower right corner, underlined, graphite, Vollard signature (according to Jayne Warman): "x voll".
Collector's mark: none.
Label: Now missing, but recorded in correspondence in the file: Lefevre label (correspondence from Lefevre Gallery in file, dated 1934, states they have no record of the drawing passing through their hands, and they believe it was sent there to either have the frame repaired or new glass installed).
Inscription: Verso: lower left corner, blue crayon, underlined, Vollard/Bernheim Jeune inventory number: "66"; lower right corner, underlined, graphite, Vollard signature (according to Jayne Warman): "x voll".
Collector's mark: none.
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