Rhythm of Execution
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In Bridge and Dam, Pontoise (Le Pont et le barrage, Pontoise) (1881) Cézanne is using a very similar, almost rhythmic, underdrawing scheme similar to that used in L’Hermitage at Pontoise (1881). The path and bridge are outlined in a comparatively meticulous fashion. Masses of foliage are noted in the underdrawing with a characteristic flurry of scribbles. Upon this underdrawing Cézanne merges two modes of paint application; the varied thickness of paint we saw in the L’Hermitage and the much thinner series of washes he used in Turning Road, Auvers-sur-Oise (La Route tournante à Auvers-sur-Oise), also from 1881. The bushes in the foreground and trees on the bank of the river are initially brushed in with a very thin wash as the foreground of L’Hermitage. Atop of these passages Cézanne applies staccato marks of paint similar to those used in Turning Road.
