Question: How did he make this painting?

Answer: Cézanne used real world models.

Cézanne used local farmhands to model for this painting. Some even worked on his family’s estate, Jas de Bouffan. His models sat for over a dozen studies and drawings, which he then used to complete the final canvas. These sketches and the series of paintings give us a rare glimpse into Cézanne's artistic process—how he posed, positioned, and re-positioned his characters.

 

Touch the painting to see images of Cézanne's studies for The Card Players.

 

"It took me 40 years to find out that painting is not sculpture."

Paul Cézanne, Study for The Card Players, 1890-1892