Paul Cézanne
The Road Bridge at L’Estaque
From $100
Cézanne built this view out of solid blocks of colour, and a washed-out copy turns the blue bay grey. Our Cezanne Bay of Marseilles print was graded beside the original so the water stays deep blue, the roofs stay warm and every block of colour holds its place.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
20x16 inch, 30x24 inch, 40x32 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its landscape shape suits a living room, a study or a dining room wall. The blues and terracottas look wonderful with white, navy and warm wood, and a natural wood or white frame keeps it bright.
About the painting
The Bay of Marseille, Seen from L’Estaque by Paul Cézanne
L’Estaque, about 1885
Paul Cézanne grew up in Aix-en-Provence and spent most of his life in the south of France, often alone. From the fishing village of L’Estaque, above the bay of Marseille, he painted this same view more than a dozen times in the 1880s.
A playing card
He wrote to his friend Camille Pissarro that the view looked like a playing card, all simple shapes and colours: red roofs against a blue sea. So he split the picture into four bands, the houses and chimneys, the water, the mountains and the sky, and built each one out of blocky strokes.
Post-Impressionism
Cézanne cared less about passing light than about the solid shape of things underneath. That is why younger painters, from Picasso to Matisse, called him the greatest of them all. This view belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago.
Read the story
Paul Cézanne painted the same view more than a dozen times, trying to make it solid.
It's around 1885, in the south of France. Cézanne is in his forties, and almost nobody in Paris knows his name.
He works mostly alone, far from the other painters, and his father still keeps him short of money.
Above the bay of Marseille there's a fishing village called L'Estaque, and from the hill he can see it all.
He once wrote to his friend Pissarro that the view looked like a playing card: red roofs against a blue sea.
So that's how he paints it, in four bands. First the houses and chimneys, orange and ochre. Then the deep blue water, then the line of mountains, then the sky.
He doesn't care much about passing light. He wants the solid shape underneath, and he builds it stroke by stroke, like blocks.
Younger painters saw something new in that. Monet bought fifteen of his pictures, and called him the greatest of us all.
Today this view hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Look at it the way he did. Roofs, water, mountains, sky, like a playing card.
The Bay of Marseille, Seen from L'Estaque. Paul Cézanne, 1885.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
