Fleurs dans un vase de Delft (Flowers in a Delft Vase)
Painting on canvas (likely relined or mounted on board) • Attributed to Paul Cézanne (French, 1839–1906)
Style & Movement
Post-Impressionism / Impressionism transition period
Medium & Technique
Oil on canvas; Post-Impressionist technique featuring structured brushstrokes, impasto, and a heavy impasto-like layering in the floral petals.
Creation Period
Circa 1873-1875
Dimensions & Format
Approximately 41 x 27 cm; Vertical portrait format
Subject Description
A still life arrangement featuring a variety of flowers (likely dahlias, geraniums, and gladioli) positioned in a blue and white Delftware ceramic vase. The composition sits on a tabletop against a dark, mountain-like upholstered chair backdrop, showcasing the artist's early interest in geometric volume and spatial structuralism.
Condition & Value Assessment
Condition Assessment
Good; showing signs of age-appropriate craquelure and potential surface dirt. The canvas appear stable within a period-style gilded frame.
Estimated Market Value
$3,000,000 - $6,000,000 (Subject to authentication and provenance verification)
Auction Estimate
$2,500,000 - $4,500,000
Provenance History
Signature 'P. Cezanne' visible in the lower left. Likely passed through French private collections; such works on this scale were often acquired by early patrons like Victor Chocquet or Père Tanguy.
Art Historical Significance
Crucial transitional piece representing Cézanne's move away from the 'dark' romantic period into the structural Impressionism he developed in Auvers-sur-Oise alongside Pissarro. It anticipates his late mastery of still life as a vehicle for exploring form and color.
Notable Features
Features the iconic blue-and-white Delft vase that appears in several of Cézanne's Auvers-period still lifes. The signature is characteristic of his early to mid-1870s hand. The frame is a 19th-century gilded Barbizon-style fluted frame.
Condition Issues
Visible fine-pattern craquelure throughout the lighter white and blue pigments. Possible yellowing of varnish. Slight frame-rubbing along the edges.
Conservation Recommendations
Professional cleaning to remove oxidized varnish; examination under UV light to check for overpainting; maintain in a climate-controlled environment with stable humidity and low UV lighting.