2025 is a Paul Cezanne Art-Filled Summer in Aix-en-Provence

Aix-en-Provence is always a lovely place to visit, but this year, there is an extra incentive for art lovers with several exhibits featuring Paul Cezanne’s works. The Musée Granet will have an ‘exposition exceptionelle’ from June 28 through  October 12, 2025. There will be 90 exhibits – oils, watercolours and drawings – on show, courtesy of galleries worldwide. In addition, the Collection Pearlman will open to the public on June 13, 2025. It comprises 66 impressionist and post-impressionist works, including 24 from Cézanne. It was last seen in Aix in 2014 and is coming on a long-term loan, a huge boost to the artistic riches of the town. C

Bastide du Jas de Bouffan

The 18th-century country house Jas de Bouffan, which was home to the Cezanne family for 40 years, was closed over a year ago for renovation. It’s a sizable property, 450m2, with a farm, outbuildings, a caretaker’s house, a large pond, and an orangerie, on 6 hectares of land, inside the Aix city boundaries. The restoration work is ongoing.

Over 40 years, Cezanne painted his home and the grounds 36 times in oil and 17 times with watercolour. After the painter’s father died, Paul Cézanne continued to live in the bastide, painting in his attic studio with his mother until her death. The property was sold in 1899 and designated as a French historical monument in 2001.

Paul Cezanne’s Studio

When his mother died in 1897, Cézanne sold the Bastide de Jas de Bouffan. He then built his workshop north of Aix-en-Provence on Lauves Hill. He painted the walls gray and put a parquet on the floor to get the best light. He is a slow painter and takes a long time to choose his colours. Also, Paul Cézanne had an opening built to the right of the front door to pass his paintings into the garden. He likes to paint outdoors. His painting, “Les Grandes Baigneuses,” was taken out of the studio in this way. It couldn’t go through the stairs. The atelier has undergone a remodel to improve the visitor experience.

©Marti Schmidt

Cezanne’s Château Noir

Aix-based artist Jill Steenhuis shared the following. Château Noir is a special place where one feels the presence of Cezanne. The location radiates the authenticity of Provence and its history back to Roman times. It is untouched by modern comforts and conveniences, unspoilt by tourism and expectations of how things should be – instead, it is true “nature dans son jus.” The pistachio tree in the courtyard that Cezanne painted in 1895 & 1896 is still there, and the millstones are still in place just as they were when Cezanne painted them. Read more about this inspirational location outside of Aix-en-Provence.