The Overture to Tannhauser: The Artist's Mother and Sister

Cezanne painted this work at Jas de Bouffan, an estate near Aix which belonged to his parents. Depicted here are his mother and sister. Music-making was a popular theme with innovative artists at this time, and the subtitle of the work, The Overture to Tannhauser, reminisces Richard Wagner, who had become the symbol of the new kind of art. The intimate scene has nothing commonplace about it, seemingly transformed into something sublime and ceremonial. Cezanne was a friend of the Impressionists, even showing his works at their exhibitions, yet, he soon discovered that his was a totally different view of the world. He took to his own independent artistic path.