Peasant Standing with Arms Crossed

Cezanne painted Peasant Standing with Arms Crossed around 1895 at the Jas de Bouffan, his family home near Aix-en-Provence. He was in his mid-50s and had been painting local workers from the estate for several years. A man stands facing the viewer, his arms crossed over his chest. He wears a blue jacket and dark trousers, with a yellow hat or cap. His face is rough and unfinished, with the features suggested by a few strokes of paint. His body is built in solid, blocky forms, with no attempt at anatomy. The background is a field of blue and grey, with a thin red band at the lower edge. The canvas is roughly 32 by 23 inches, portrait format. The colors are muted: the blue of the jacket, the yellow of the hat, the grey of the background. Cezanne painted a series of peasant portraits at the Jas de Bouffan in the 1890s, using workers from the estate as models. This one is in the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. He painted them slowly, over multiple sittings, and the surfaces are dense and layered. The figures are built from patches of color, not from anatomical knowledge, and the result is a portrait that feels both solid and unresolved. Cezanne had been living in Provence since the late 1880s, after years of moving between Paris and the south. He was painting the landscapes and people of the region with a new intensity, and his reputation was growing. The peasant portraits are part of this late period, alongside the card players, the bather compositions, and the Mont Sainte-Victoire landscapes. Oil on canvas, 82.6 by 59.1 centimeters. Cezanne painted with a muted palette of blues, yellows, and greys, building the figure in broad, parallel strokes. The face is unfinished, with the features suggested by a few marks. The background is a field of blue and grey, with a thin red band at the bottom. This painting works in a study, office, or living room. The muted palette and portrait subject suit a room with neutral walls and simple furniture. The 16x20 framed version in a black frame is the most versatile size. The painting is in the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, accession number BF209. This is a public domain artwork, sourced from Wikimedia Commons. We print it on archival matte paper at sizes from 8x10 to 24x36 inches, framed or unframed. The image is printed at full resolution with no cropping.