Pine Tree at Bellevue (Paysage provençal)

This drawing was made near Aix-en-Provence at Bellevue, which became the property of the artist's brother-in-law in 1885. Cézanne's study and interpretation of the Provençal landscape constantly evolved, and while he was interested in recording its constant flux, he also wanted to capture what he considered to be its eternal qualities. In this drawing, feelings of both movement and solidity are apparent, from the free strokes describing the shrubs and foliage at the left to the more contained modeling of the large tree at the right. This same tree appears in several of Cézanne's paintings and other drawings.