A Mysterious Cézanne Work Is Discovered in the Artist’s Childhood Home
It’s an entirely unknown work by the French painter.
A new work believed to be by the French painter Paul Cézanne has been found on the walls of his childhood home during renovations, officials announced last week. The work, which measures about 64 square feet, was not included in the 1996 catalogue raisonné by art historian John Rewald.
Sophie Joissains, a French senator and mayor of the town of Aix-en-Provence, shared the news on social media after a conference attended by Philippe Cézanne, the painter’s great-grandson, and experts on the artist from the Société Paul Cézanne and the Musée Granet.
“The walls of the ‘Grand Salon’ in the Bastide du Jas de Bouffan, currently being renovated, have just revealed some of the painter’s hidden, unknown treasures,” Joissains said.
The piece was found under wallpaper and plaster in the house’s main living room in August 2023. The home, known as the Bastide du Jas de Bouffan, sits on a 12.3-acre property bought by Cézanne’s father, Louis-Auguste Cézanne, in 1859.