Inspired by Paul Cezanne, The Card Players, 1892-96.

We selected The Card Players (1892-1895) by Paul Cezanne because we were interested in the difference between the painting’s appearance from a distance and from up close. We were also intrigued by the tension between the two men playing the card game. Finally, we were struck by the dash of red paint in the background, which is the only bright colour in the composition’s palette. From our research, we learned that the game the men are playing is called ‘Gin Rummy’ and that the players were French peasants of the lower class, a subject that particularly interested Cezanne. Since we weren’t able to find any reason for the application of red colour in the background, we interpreted the red colouring as a sign of the building tension in the scene. For our animation approach, we used acetate to add features to the original image. In after-effects, we learned how to use the stroke effect to animate the writing of the word ‘Fin.’ This writing was inspired by Cezanne’s own handwriting.