Montagne Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine
- Artist: Paul Cézanne
- Date: c. 1887
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The Courtauld Gallery
- Collection record: The Courtauld Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the "Montagne Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine" by Paul Cézanne, created around 1887 in oil on canvas. Picture the jagged peak of Sainte‑Victoire, looming over the rolling hills of Provence. Cézanne captured it from many angles, but this version is the most monumental, a true icon of his lifelong obsession with the mountain’s rugged character.
Notice how the artist layers swathes of green and yellow that draw the eye straight up to the summit, rendered in cool blues and pinks that soften the stone’s harsh angles. In the foreground, a massive pine unfurls its branches, mirroring the mountain’s contour. This sweeping pine framing is a device Cézanne repeated in other works, like the painting of Lac d’Annecy nearby.
What gives the scene a touch of modernity is the railway viaduct that juts out on the right and the faint trail of steam from a passing train, a reminder that even in the timeless Provençal landscape, progress is always on the horizon. Samuel Courtauld, who once saw one of Cézanne’s pieces in 1922, spoke of feeling “the magic” there; his passion helped build the largest Cézanne collection in the United Kingdom.
See it in person
Montagne Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine hangs in The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
