New Cézanne Mural Discovered in the Artist’s Childhood Home in Aix-en-Provance

During renovations to the childhood home of French painter Paul Cézanne in Aix-en-Provence, France, a previously unrecorded mural by the master impressionist was discovered under layers of plaster and wallpaper, The Art Newspaper reported Tuesday.

The mural is the tenth to have been discovered on the walls of the house, having been found last August in the Grand Salon as the home, Bastide du Jas de Bouffan, underwent renovations in preparation for a celebration of Cézanne’s connection to the city.

The nine previously uncovered murals, all painted between 1859 and 1869, were transferred to canvasses following the sale of the home to the Granel-Corsy family in 1899 and placed in museums across the globe, including the Petit Palais and Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Chrysler Museum of Art, and the Nakata Museum in Onomichi in Japan.

The nine murals have also been included in the catalogue raisonné of Cézanne’s works by John Rewald’s (1996). The new mural, will be added to the amended online version of the catalogue.

The newly discovered work features long pennants drifting in the breeze, what appear to be the flag topped masts of ships, and, to the right side of the wall, a row of buildings. According to The Art Newspaper, Cézanne referenced other works when composing the murals at Bastide du Jas de Bouffan. This mural, named Entrée du port (Entrance to the Port), is believed to have been influenced by Claude-Joseph Vernet or Claude Lorrain.

Experts say Cézanne painted over much of Entrée du port with the 1864 work Jeu de cache-cache (Game of Hide & Seek). After they moved in, the Granel family is thought to have covered up any parts of the Entrée that remained.

Entrée du port is the only work by Cézanne that remains in Aix-en-Orovance. “With this unexpected discovery… Aix-en-Provence [will] write the history of his affiliation with the [Cézanne],” Sophie Joissains, Aix’s mayor wrote on Facebook when she announced the discovery. “He is the emblem and ambassador of our City.