In this year 2025, the whole city of Aix-en-Provence celebrates its fetish artist Paul Cezanne, but has this recognition always come from within? On the contrary, it is a tumultuous relationship between the city and the painter that seems to be written between the 1890s and 1956. Long rejected by the institutional circles of Aix, often composed of worldly artists, Cezanne is only belatedly the subject of widespread tributes in his native country. The Musée du Vieil Aix proposes to return to this history by presenting its circles of friends and supporters, the network of anti-Cezannians who lead a veritable cabal against it, among whom the painters Louis-Gautier (1855-1947) or Henri Dobler (1863-1941), as well as the story of his rehabilitation in Aix-en-Provence thanks to the figure of Marcel Joannon, known as Marcel Provence (1892-1951). Fervent folklorist regionalist, first curator of the Musée du Vieil Aix, this one distinguishes itself by buying Cezanne’s studio in 1921 and by promoting the figure of the artist locally. Through the presentation of paintings, drawings, photographs and archival documents, this exhibition proposes to shift the gaze for a moment to question a celebration that was far from being obvious a few decades ago.

Address
17 Rue Gaston de Saporta, 13100 Aix-en-Provence, France, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France