Cézanne executed 44 oil paintings and 43 drawings and watercolors of the Montagne Sainte-Victoire. Working doggedly and with passion on the motif, he introduced this mountain into the history of art. Jean-Christophe Ballot knew of these facts, but no more. What was missing was an encounter, a confrontation with the mountain. The Sainte-Victoire existed only in his imagination, it still needed to be embodied.
The artist bears witness: “felt once again, as I roamed the footpaths of the Sainte-Victoire, the same sensations that I experienced on the road to Santiago de Compostela in the fall of 1996. It was on the road to Compostela that I discovered the joy of walking in nature, physical exertion to the point of losing oneself, of dissolving.
The gaze is lifted to the horizon or to the summit of a mountain. So the soul reaches a sense of fulfillment in this apparent paradox, utter detachment from, and total communion with the world. Pure joy!”
15 novembre – 20 décembre 2010
Galerie Beckel Odille Boïcos
1 rue Jacques-Coeur, 75004 Paris
