I might have passed on this exhibition were it not for the article in The Guardian that suggested that the two Van Gogh paintings in the exhibition had never been seen in the UK previously. One of them had actually been shown at the recent exhibition at The National Gallery.

Seeing the paintings side by side seemed like a good idea!

I had a suspicion that the colour in the garden painting had 'degraded' in some way. The flue from the stove in the ward painting seems somewhat arkward and has clearly been added over previous paint.

The Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles, April, 1889
oil on canvas

73 x 92 cm
Oskar Reinhart Collection 'Am Römerholz' Winterthur

The Ward in the Hospital at Arles 1889
oil on canvas
74 x 92 cm
Acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1925

(detail)

Paul Cézanne
Still Life With Faience Jug and Fruit - Around 1900
oil on canvas
Acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1925

Paul Cézanne
The Château Noir - Around 1885
oil on canvas
Acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1926

(detail)

I very much 'like' the way this composition circulates around the central area depicting the building. The drawn elements of the trees are so precise!

Paul Cézanne
The Pilon Du Roi 1887-88
oil on canvas
Acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1923

There is an earlier Cézanne portrait in the exhibition but it was in the heavier type of paint application and so much less attractive than the later works. The one watercolour in the exhibition keeps me guessing about the 'transparency' or otherwise of the oil paint in the late paintings.

(That one will run and run but at least there is the opportunity to get back to The Courtauld Collection!)

Paul Cézanne
Mont Sainte-Victoire - Around 1902-06
Watercolour and opaque watercolour over graphite on paper
Acquired by Oskar Reinhart in 1923

All the images taken today have been subject to AI noise reduction as the low lighting in the gallery space required a high ISO setting for the hand held exposures.

My interest in the exhibition was very much focused on the Van Gogh and Cezanne works!

Paul Cézanne
Les grands arbres au Jas de Bouffan, 1885–8
oil on canvas
Courtauld Collection

(detail)

Paul Cézanne
La Montagne Sainte-Victoire au grand pin, c.1887
oil on canvas
Courtauld Collection

Paul Cézanne
Le Lac d'Annecy, 1896
oil on canvas
Courtauld Collection

Vincent van Gogh
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear 1889
oil on canvas
60 x 49 cm
Courtauld Collection

Vincent van Gogh
Peach Trees in Blossom 1889
oil on canvas
65 x 81 cm
Courtauld Collection

Georges Seurat
Man Painting a Boat - Around 1883
oil on wood
Courtauld Collection

The tiny Seurat painting was a complete surprise to me and had a wonderful lightness of touch...

The Courtauld Collection Cezanne paintings are simply 'great' and I will take every opportunity to refresh my memory of them!