Landscape at La Ciotat

Landscape at La Ciotat is a seminal oil on canvas painting created by Georges Braque during the summer of 1907. This crucial work marks a definitive transitional phase in the French artist’s oeuvre, documenting his move away from the exuberant colors of Fauvism toward the rigorous formal structures that would soon define Cubism. Painted during a pivotal stay in the coastal town of La Ciotat, the landscape demonstrates Braque’s increasing interest in the underlying geometry of natural forms, a development heavily influenced by the retrospective exhibition of Paul Cézanne’s work held in Paris in 1907.

The painting features a compressed perspective, where the background and foreground merge into interlocking planes of color. While retaining some of the saturated, non-naturalistic hues characteristic of Fauvism—such as vivid greens, ochres, and strong outlines—Braque uses his brushwork to build volumes rather than simply expressing emotion. The treatment of the trees and hillsides is heavily simplified, reducing organic forms into angular, almost crystalline segments. This systematic breakdown of reality into structural components provides an early glimpse of the analytic phase of Cubism.

This piece is essential for understanding the foundations of early twentieth-century modernism. The period referenced, La Ciotat, summer 1907, was critical for Braque’s development, showing his commitment to spatial experimentation before his formal collaboration with Pablo Picasso began later that year. The work stands as a key example of the structural innovation that influenced countless subsequent artists. The canvas is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), cementing its importance within the history of art. As this masterwork potentially moves toward the public domain, fine art prints and educational materials increasingly allow widespread appreciation of this early and essential painting by Braque.