Le dimanche avec Paul Cézanne (souvenirs)

In this intimate memoir, a young French soldier recounts the year he spent alongside the celebrated painter Paul Cézanne. Written from the perspective of a twenty‑year‑old conscript in 1901, the narrator blends military routine with the quiet rhythms of Provençal life. His recollections were prompted by friends who feared his firsthand insights might fade, making the account both a personal testimony and a snapshot of a vanished era.

The narrative strolls through Sunday afternoons spent at Cézanne’s modest house, where the painter’s steady hand and quiet humor emerge amidst sketches, broken pottery, and the scent of rosemary. Interwoven are vivid vignettes of the army’s daily drills, the clatter of horse‑drawn omnibuses, and the bustling markets of Aix, painting a layered portrait of early‑20th‑century France. Listeners will hear the texture of a world where art and duty intersect, offering a rare window into the personality of a master before his fame solidified.