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The Castle of La Roche-Guyon

La Roche-Guyon, summer 1909
Not on view
Before reporting for mandatory military service in the summer of 1909, Braque visited the town of La Roche-Guyon, on the Seine northwest of Paris. This canvas is one of five views he painted of the local castle, a ruined twelfth-century tower situated on a chalk cliff above a fortified manor house. Taking his cue from Cézanne’s landscapes, Braque incorporated a high horizon line, vertically stacked motifs, and faceted planes that tumble forward into the viewer’s space. A central lozengelike shape—one of Braque’s favorite compositional devices during these years—stabilizes the composition, which is rendered in a cascade of shimmering fragments.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Castle of La Roche-Guyon
  • Artist: Georges Braque (French, Argenteuil 1882–1963 Paris)
  • Date: La Roche-Guyon, summer 1909
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 25 1/2 × 21 1/2 in. (64.8 × 54.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Leonard A. Lauder Cubist Collection, Gift of Leonard A. Lauder, 2025
  • Object Number: 2025.616.11
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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