Transformation of Space and Form in the Landscapes of Paul Cézanne: Mont Sainte-Victoire as a Concept of Modernist Aesthetics

Background. This article explores Paul Cézanne's artistic method, focusing on his innovative approach to rendering space, form, and color in landscapes featuring Mont Sainte-Victoire, which significantly influenced the evolution of modernist art. Painted over a hundred times under various lighting and weather conditions, Mont Sainte-Victoire became a symbol of nature’s monumentality and permanence for Cézanne. He employed it as a foundation for embodying universal forms and for seeking harmony within the world’s structure through geometric brushstrokes and compositional solutions. The study aims to analyze Cézanne's creative method, particularly his pioneering approach to perspective and composition, which disrupted traditional spatial illusion in art. This article emphasizes how Cézanne established a novel spatial approach, wherein all objects—mountains, trees, and buildings—interact as equal elements that reveal a deeper structure of nature through their relationships. Methods. The research applies a historical-biographical method to trace Cézanne's artistic journey, a contextual method to examine cultural and social influences on his style, and a visual-analytical method to closely investigate the unique features of space, perspective, color structure, and composition in his landscapes. Results. Analyzing Cézanne's legacy reveals that he did not merely depict nature but created a new model of perception, where natural elements become vehicles for expressing universal structures and interactions. His works featuring Mont Sainte-Victoire, therefore, exemplify a new spatial mindset that influenced modernism and subsequent developments in art. Conclusions. The study confirms that Cézanne's approach to landscapes with Mont Sainte-Victoire laid the groundwork for a new understanding of spatial composition, which led to the development of modernist movements in art and transformed traditional conceptions of object interactions within the pictorial plane.