A previously unknown mural by the esteemed French painter Paul Cézanne has been unveiled during renovations at his childhood residence in Aix-en-Provence, France.
The discovery was reported by The Art Newspaper on Tuesday. This latest discovery marks the tenth mural found adorning the walls of the property, known as Bastide du Jas de Bouffan. Unearthed last August in the Grand Salon, the mural emerged during preparations for an event commemorating Cézanne’s ties to the city.
As for the nine previously identified murals, dating from 1859 to 1869, they have been relocated to various museums worldwide following the sale of the residence to the Granel-Corsy family in 1899. Some of these new homes include the Petit Palais and Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Chrysler Museum of Art, and the Nakata Museum in Onomichi, Japan. All nine murals are documented in John Rewald’s catalog raisonné of Cézanne’s oeuvre (1996) (which would now be updated with details of the newly discovered piece).
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Entitled “Entrée du port” (Entrance to the Port), the newfound mural portrays billowing pennants, ship masts, and a row of buildings along the right side of the wall. According to experts, Cézanne drew inspiration from the works of Claude-Joseph Vernet or Claude Lorrain when creating the murals at Bastide du Jas de Bouffan. It is believed that Cézanne later painted over much of “Entrée du port” with his 1864 piece “Jeu de cache-cache” (Game of Hide & Seek), which was subsequently covered up by the Granel family upon their residency.
After the news was made public, Sophie Joissains (mayor of the city) posted on Facebook, “With this unexpected discovery… Aix-en-Provence [will] write the history of his affiliation with the [Cézanne]. He is the emblem and ambassador of our City.“
