Arichveinoftheartist’smaturework,depictingthefoundationsoflandscapeandplaceFromthemid-1860suntilshortlybeforehisdeath,PaulC矇zanne(1839-1906)created27canvasesthattakerockformationsastheirprincipalsubjects.Thisisthefirstpublicationtofocusexclusivelyontheseextraordinaryworks.ItillustratesallofC矇zanne’smaturepaintingsofrockformations,includingscenesoftheterrainoftheforestofFontainebleau,theMediterraneancoastalvillageofL’Estaque,andtheareaaroundAix-en-Provence,alongsideexamplesofhiswatercolorsofthesesubjects.AnintroductoryessaybyJohnElderfieldassessesthesepaintingsintermsoftheircharacter,development,andrelationshiptoC矇zanne’sotherworks;theircriticalinterpretations;andtheirgeologicalandcorporealassociations.FayaCausey’sessayexaminestheProven癟alcontextofC矇zanne’srockandquarrypaintings,aswellasthestatusofgeologyinFranceduringthesecondhalfofthe19thcentury.Thecataloguesection,introducedbyAnnaSwinbourne,chroniclesthesites,presentingdetailsofwherespecificallythepaintingsweremadeandofthefeaturesthattheyrepresent,togetherwithtechnicalaspectsofparticularworks.
