La Madeleine

Painted c.1868-1869 and now at the Musée d'Orsay, La Madeleine belongs to the dark, intensely emotional early period when Cézanne was working under the spell of Delacroix and the Romantic tradition. The subject — Mary Magdalene in contemplative sorrow — connects to the tradition of devotional painting but in Cézanne's handling takes on a raw, almost expressionistic intensity. The figure, seen from behind with her arms crossed and head bowed, is enveloped in heavy, sombre colour applied with bold impasto.

The paint is applied with extraordinary heaviness, the impasto texturally assertive and almost sculptural in the figure and background. Dark blue-black dominates the drapery, with the exposed flesh of neck and arms rendered in warm, highlighted tones. The broad, gestural brushwork reflects the expressionist energy of the early period before Cézanne's palette and technique became more measured and systematic.