54) April 8 (Sunday) Itinerary: Aix En Provence: The hometown of Paul Cézanne
We arrived at Paul Cézanne's hometown at 4:30 p.m. Since it was a bit late, we decided to visit either Cézanne's birthplace or his atelier. I decided to visit the atelier where he painted in his later years rather than his birthplace. I managed to park the car in a parking lot a bit further away from the atelier. My wife, feeling exhausted from the slight dissonance in Nimes, decided to rest in the car. Cézanne's studio was halfway up the hill. I walked briskly. I thought I'd have to wait until 5 p.m. to be admitted, but when I arrived, it was just past 5. The door was closed. I was in trouble. I had come here solely to see Cezanne, so it was disappointing to find the door closed. There was an intercom at the door. I pressed it, and a woman answered. I urgently pleaded, "We have just arrived from South Korea to see Paul Cezanne and his atelier. Would you please open the door for us to enter?" She said, "OK," and opened the door. I'm simply grateful. Western society respects principles, yet we show Cézanne's studio to travelers from faraway countries who come to see this place. Upon reaching the atelier on the second floor, there were already about ten tourists listening to the guide. Since the guide spoke English, I was able to understand the atelier's description. When I was in high school, our art teacher, Jae-woo Yoon, taught us Western art history and artists. He even showed us paintings of three leading figures of the Post-Impressionist movement, explaining them in detail. Thanks to him, whenever I traveled to Europe, I would always visit art museums to admire Impressionist and other artists. Mr. Yoon showed us many of Cézanne's still lifes depicting fruits like apples, peaches, and pomegranates, and explained the characteristics of Post-Impressionist painting. The studio was filled with various fake fruits and small objects, including apples painted by Cézanne. The guide explained that Cézanne repeatedly painted still lifes and various small objects in this studio. He devoted himself to painting here until his death from pneumonia in October 1906 at the age of 67. .......................................................................................................................................................................................
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