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Paul Cézanne

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Artists

   Self portrait c. 1875
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   Self portrait c. 1875

   Paul Cézanne ( January 19, 1839 – October 22, 1906) was a French artist
   and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the
   transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a
   new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne
   can be said to form the bridge between late 19th century Impressionism
   and the early 20th century's new line of artistic enquiry, Cubism. The
   line attributed to both Matisse and Picasso that Cézanne "...is the
   father of us all..." cannot be easily dismissed.

   Cézanne's work demonstrates a mastery of design, colour, composition
   and draftsmanship. His often repetitive, sensitive and exploratory
   brushstrokes are highly characteristic and clearly recognisable. Using
   planes of colour and small brushstrokes that build up to form complex
   fields, at once both a direct expression of the sensations of the
   observing eye and an abstraction from observed nature, Cézanne's
   paintings convey intense study of his subjects, a searching gaze and a
   dogged struggle to deal with the complexity of human visual perception.

Life and work

   Femme au Chapeau Vert (Woman in a Green Hat. Madame Cézanne.) 1894-1895
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   Femme au Chapeau Vert (Woman in a Green Hat. Madame Cézanne.) 1894-1895

Biographical background

   Paul Cézanne was born on 19 January 1839 in Aix-en-Provence, one of the
   southernmost regions of France. Provence is a varied and complex region
   geographically, comprised of several limestone plateaux and mountain
   ranges, to the east of the Rhône valley. The climate is hot and dry in
   summer and cool in winter. Altitudes range from lower-lying areas to
   some impressive mountain peaks and these mountainous areas have
   characteristic pine forests and limestone outcrops. Each of these
   topographical features would find prominent expression in Cézanne's
   work. Cézanne developed a lifelong love for the Provençal landscape,
   which later became his chief subject before his later large scale works
   involving 'The Bathers' consumed him.

   From 1859 to 1861 Cézanne studied law in Aix, while also receiving
   drawing lessons. Going against the objections of his banker father, he
   committed himself to pursuing his artistic development and left Aix for
   Paris, with his close friend Émile Zola, in 1861. Eventually, his
   father reconciled with Cézanne and supported his choice of career.
   Cézanne later received a large inheritance from his father, on which he
   could continue living comfortably.

Cezanne the Artist

   In Paris, Cézanne met the Impressionists, including Camille Pissarro.
   Initially the friendship formed in the mid 1860s between Pissarro and
   Cézanne was that of master and mentor, with Pissarro exerting a
   formative influence on the younger artist. Over the course of the
   following decade their landscape painting excursions together, in
   Louveciennes and Pontoise, led to a collaborative working relationship
   between equals.
   The Cardplayers, an iconic work by Cézanne (1892).
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   The Cardplayers, an iconic work by Cézanne (1892).

   Cézanne's early work is often concerned with the figure in the
   landscape and comprises many paintings of groups of large, heavy
   figures in the landscape, imaginatively painted. Later in his career,
   he became more interested in working from direct observation and
   gradually developed a light, airy painting style that was to influence
   the Impressionists enormously. Nonetheless, in Cézanne's mature work we
   see the development of a solidified, almost architectural style of
   painting. Throughout his life he struggled to develop an authentic
   observation of the seen world by the most accurate method of
   representing it in paint that he could find. To this end, he
   structurally ordered whatever he perceived into simple forms and colour
   planes. His statement "I want to make of impressionism something solid
   and lasting like the art in the museums", and his contention that he
   was recreating Poussin "after nature" underscored his desire to unite
   observation of nature with the permanence of classical composition.

Optical phenomena

   Les Grandes Baigneuses, 1906: the triumph of Poussinesque stability and
   geometric balance.
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   Les Grandes Baigneuses, 1906: the triumph of Poussinesque stability and
   geometric balance.

   Cézanne's geometric essentialisation of forms was to influence Pablo
   Picasso's, Georges Braque's and Juan Gris' Cubism in profound ways.
   When one compares Cézanne's late oils with Cubist paintings, a link of
   influence is most evident. The key to this link is the depth and
   concentration that Cézanne applied to recording his observations of
   nature, a focus later intellectually synthesized in Cubism. We have two
   eyes and therefore possess binocular vision. This gives rise to two
   slightly separate visual perceptions, which are simultaneously
   processed in the visual cortex of the brain and provide us with depth
   perception and a complex knowledge of the space which we inhabit. The
   essential aspect of binocular vision that Cézanne employed and which
   became influential on Cubism, was that we often "see" two views of an
   object at the same time. This led him to paint with a varying outline
   that at once shows the left-eye and right-eye view, thus ignoring
   tradional linear perspective. Cubism took this a step further and
   Picasso, Braque and Gris experimented with not simply two simultaneous
   views but with multiple views of the same subject.

Exhibitions and subjects

   Cézanne's paintings were shown in the first exhibition of the Salon des
   Refusés in 1863, which displayed works not accepted by the jury of the
   official Paris Salon. The Salon rejected Cézanne's submissions every
   year from 1864 to 1869.
   Still Life with a Curtain (1895) illustrates Cezanne's increasing trend
   towards terse compression of forms and dynamic tension between
   geometric figures.
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   Still Life with a Curtain (1895) illustrates Cezanne's increasing trend
   towards terse compression of forms and dynamic tension between
   geometric figures.

   Cézanne exhibited little in his lifetime and worked in increasing
   artistic isolation, remaining in the south of France, in his beloved
   Provence, far from Paris. He concentrated on a few subjects and was
   equally proficient in each genre: still lifes, portraits, landscapes
   and studies of bathers. For the last, Cézanne was compelled to design
   from his imagination, due to a lack of available nude models. Like the
   landscapes, his portraits were drawn from that which was familiar, so
   that not only his wife and son but local peasants, children and his art
   dealer served as subjects. His still lifes are at once decorative in
   design, painted with thick, flat surfaces, yet with a weight
   reminiscent of Courbet. The 'props' for his works are still to be
   found, as he left them, in his studio (atelier), in the suburbs of
   modern Aix.

   Although religious images appeared less frequently in Cézanne's later
   work, he remained a devout Roman Catholic and said “When I judge art, I
   take my painting and put it next to a God-made object like a tree or
   flower. If it clashes, it is not art.”

Death of Cézanne

   In 1906, Cézanne collapsed while painting outdoors, during a
   thunderstorm. One week later, on October 22, he died of pneumonia.

Main periods of Cezanne's work

   Various periods in the work and life of Cézanne have been defined.
   Cézanne created hundreds of paintings, some of which command
   considerable market prices. On May 10, 1999, Cézanne's painting Rideau,
   Cruchon et Compotier sold for $60.5 million, the fourth-highest price
   paid for a painting up to that time. As of 2006, it is the most
   expensive still life ever sold at an auction.

The dark period, Paris, 1861-1870

   The Overture to Tannhäuser: The Artist's Mother and Sister, 1868.
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   The Overture to Tannhäuser: The Artist's Mother and Sister, 1868.

   In 1863 Napoleon III created by decree the Salon des Refusés, at which
   paintings rejected for display at the Salon of the Académie des
   Beaux-Arts were to be displayed. The artists of the refused works
   included the young Impressionists, who were considered revolutionary.
   Cézanne was influenced by their style but his inept social relations
   with them—he seemed rude, shy, angry and given to depression—resulted
   in a period characterized by dark colors and the heavy use of black,
   unlike either his earlier watercolours and sketches at the École
   Spéciale de dessin at Aix-en-Provence, in 1859 or his subsequent works.
   Among the works of his dark period were paintings such as The Murder
   (c.1867-68); the words antisocial or violent are often used.

Impressionist period, Provence and Paris, 1870-1878

   After the start of the Franco-Prussian War in July, 1870, Cézanne and
   his mistress, Marie-Hortense Fiquet, left Paris for L'Estaque, near
   Marseilles, where he changed themes to predominantly landscapes. He was
   declared a draft-dodger in January, 1871, but the war ended in February
   and the couple moved back to Paris, in the summer of 1871. After the
   birth of their son Paul in January, 1872, in Paris, they moved to
   Auvers in Val-d'Oise near Paris. Paul's mother was kept a party to
   family events, but his father was not informed of Hortense for fear of
   risking his wrath. Paul received from his father an allowance of 100
   francs.
   Jas de Bouffan, 1876.
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   Jas de Bouffan, 1876.

   Pissarro lived in Pontoise. There and in Auvers, he and Cézanne painted
   landscapes together. For a long time afterwards, Cézanne described
   himself as Pissarro's pupil, referring to him as "God the Father" and
   saying, "We all stem from Pissarro". Under Pissarro's influence Cézanne
   began to abandon dark colours and his canvases grew much brighter.

   Leaving Hortense in the Marseille region, Paul moved between Paris and
   Provence, exhibiting in the Impressionist shows of Paris nearly every
   year until 1878. In 1875, he attracted the attention of the collector
   Victor Chocquet, whose commissions provided some financial relief. But
   Cézanne's exhibited paintings attracted hilarity, outrage and sarcasm;
   for example, the reviewer Louis Leroy said of Cézanne's portrait of
   Chocquet: "This peculiar looking head, the colour of an old boot might
   give [a pregnant woman] a shock and cause yellow fever in the fruit of
   her womb before its entry into the world".

   In March 1878, Paul's father found out about Hortense and threatened to
   cut Cézanne off financially but, in September, he decided to give him
   400 francs for his family. Paul continued to migrate between the Paris
   region and Provence until Louis-Auguste had a studio built for him at
   his home, Jas de Bouffan, in the early 1880s. This was on the upper
   floor and an enlarged window was provided, allowing in the northern
   light but interrupting the line of the eaves. This feature remains
   today. Paul stabilized his residence in L'Estaque. He painted with
   Renoir there in 1882 and visited Renoir and Monet in 1883.

Mature period, Provence, 1878-1890

   Jas de Bouffan, 1885-1887.
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   Jas de Bouffan, 1885-1887.

   In the early 1880's the Cezanne family stabilized their residence in
   Provence, where they remained, except for brief sojourns abroad, from
   then on. The move reflects a new independence from the Paris-centered
   impressionists and a marked preference for the south, Paul's native
   soil. Hortense's brother had a house within view of Mount St. Victoire
   at Estaque. A run of paintings of this mountain from 1880-1883 and
   others of Gardanne from 1885-1888, are sometimes known as "the
   Constructive Period".

   The year 1886 was a turning point for the family. Paul married
   Hortense. She had long since been known politely as Madame Cézanne
   (Mrs. Cézanne). In that year also, Paul's father died, leaving him the
   estate purchased in 1859. Paul was 47. By 1888 the family was in the
   former manor, Jas de Bouffan, a substantial house and grounds with
   outbuildings, which afforded a new-found comfort. This house, with
   much-reduced grounds, is now owned by the city and is open to the
   public on a restricted basis.

   Also in that year Paul broke off his friendship with Émile Zola, after
   the latter used Cézanne, in large part, as the basis for the
   unsuccessful and ultimately tragic fictitious artist Claude Lantier, in
   the novel ( L'Œuvre). Cézanne considered this a breach of decorum and a
   friendship begun in childhood was irreparably damaged.

Final period, Provence, 1890-1905

   Le lac bleu, 1896.
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   Le lac bleu, 1896.

   Cézanne's idyllic period at Jas de Bouffan was temporary. From 1890
   until his death he was beset by troubling events and he withdrew
   further into his painting, spending long periods as a virtual recluse.
   His paintings became well-known and sought after and he was the object
   of respect from a new generation of painters.

   The problems began with diabetes in 1890, destabilizing his personality
   to the point where relationships with others were again strained. He
   travelled in Switzerland, with Hortense and his son Paul, perhaps
   hoping to restore their relationship. Cézanne, however, returned to
   Provence to live; Hortense and Paul junior, to Paris. Financial need
   prompted Hortense's return to Provence but in separate living quarters.
   Cézanne moved in with his mother and sister. In 1891 he turned to
   Catholicism.

   Cézanne alternated between painting at Jas de Bouffan and in the Paris
   region, as before. In 1895 he made a germinal visit to Bibémus Quarries
   and climbed Mt. Ste. Victoire. The labyrinthine landscape of the
   quarries must have struck a note, as he rented a cabin there in 1897
   and painted extensively from it. The shapes are believed to have
   inspired the embryonic 'Cubist' style. Also in that year, his mother
   died, an upsetting event but one which made reconciliation with his
   wife possible. He sold the empty nest at Jas de Bouffan and rented a
   place on Rue Boulegon, where he built a studio. There is some evidence
   that his wife joined him there.
   Cézanne's house in the Bibémus quarries, Aix-en-Provence, France.
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   Cézanne's house in the Bibémus quarries, Aix-en-Provence, France.

   The relationship, however, continued to be stormy. He needed a place to
   be by himself. In 1901 he bought some land along the Chemin des Lauves
   ("Lauves Road"), an isolated road on some high ground at Aix, and
   commissioned a studio to be built there (the 'atelier', now open to the
   public). He moved there in 1903. Meanwhile, in 1902, he had drafted a
   will excluding his wife from his estate and leaving everything to his
   son Paul; the relationship was apparently off again. She is said to
   have burned the mementos of Paul's mother.

   From 1903 to the end of his life, he painted in his studio, working for
   a month in 1904 with Émile Bernard, who stayed as a house guest. After
   his death it became a monument, Atelier Paul Cézanne, or les Lauves.
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