Spring, Summer, Winter, Autumn
by CÉZANNE, Paul, Oil on canvas, 314 x 97, 314 x 109, 314 x 104, 314 x 104 cm
In 1859 C�zanne’s father bought the Jas de Bouffan (House of the Wind), the former summer residence of the Governor of Provence, to the west of Aix. Some of the rooms were in such poor condition that they were uninhabitable and remained locked up. The following year C�zanne, who was spending more and more of his time painting, was given permission by his father to paint a series of large murals in the salon.
The first pictures to be painted were probably the inner two, Summer and Winter, since the artist would appear to be less at home with the new technique of painting in these two works. The motifs on the outer walls , Spring and Autumn, are more skillfully painted.