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International Art Treasures Web Magazine March 2006 |
Cézanne in Provence
National Gallery of Art, Washington
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Paul Cézanne one of the innovators of modern art passed away in 1906. On this the centenary anniversary of his death an exhibit has been organized to honor his life's achievement focusing on the works he created in the area he knew best and loved most Provence. |
Biography
Cézanne was born in 1839 in Aix-en-Provence. His father prospered both as a hat merchant and as a bank shareholder. The son began his career studying law but it wasn't what he wanted to do. With great reluctance and a small allowance Cézanne senior permitted his son to study art in Paris.
Title: Hamlet at Payannet, near Gardanne / Hameau à Payannet près de Gardanne, 1885-1886
Artist: Paul Cézanne (French 1839-1906)
Medium: Oil on Canvas; Dimensions: 62.6 x 91.1 cm (24 5/8 x 35 7/8)
Permanent Collection: The White House
Image Courtesy: The National Gallery of Art, Washington
His first trip to Paris didn't last long within months he had returned home. Notably during the premier visit to the French capital he met Pissarro. Within a year he had returned soon had an exhibit at the Salon des Refusés in 1863.
Title: Still Life with a Plaster Cupid / L'Amour en plâtre , 1894-1895
Artist: Paul Cézanne (French 1839-1906)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 63 x 81 cm (24 13/16 x 31 7/8); framed: 82 x 99 x 7 cm (32 5/16 x 39 x 2 3/4)
Permanent Collection: Nationalmuseum, Stockholm
Image Courtesy: The National Gallery of Art, Washington
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The Salon des Refusés was created for those who were turned down by the official Salon and had found their conservative nature too restrictive. The emperor Napoleon III felt enough pressure to order this special exhibit. |
Title: Chestnut Trees at the Jas de Bouffan in Winter /
Les marronniers du Jas de Bouffan en hiver, 1885-1886
Artist: Paul Cézanne (French 1839-1906)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 71.1 x 90.2 cm (28 x 35 1/2); 102.2 x 121.9 x 9.5 cm (40 1/4 x 48 x 3 3/4)
Lent by The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The William Hood Dunwoody Fund
Image Courtesy: The National Gallery of Art, Washington
The crowds were huge in number unfortunately many came to mock and criticize. Manet, an artist whom Cézanne respected, was singled out with the condemnation given to his painting Déjeuner sur l'herbe. The prestigious Salon was undermined regardless given artists recognized that they could form their own exhibits. This one exhibit of 1863 is credited with the beginning of modern art of which Cézanne was to become a leader.
Title: Trees at the Jas de Bouffan / Bosquet au Jas de Bouffan, c. 1874
Artist: Paul Cézanne (French 1839-1906)
Medium: Oil on Canvas; Dimensions: 54 x 73 cm (21 1/4 x 28 3/4)
Scott M. Black Collection
Image Courtesy: The National Gallery of Art, Washington
Financial hardships came with Cézanne's need to support his son and Paris was simply too expensive. He moved to Pontoise and worked with Pissarro. It wasn't long before he returned to the city but this time was critical for it was under the influence of his friend Pissarro that Cézanne turned towards landscapes as a subject matter.
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The Impressionists had some impact on his adaptation of light in his work though he cannot correctly be described as one though on two occasions he exhibited with them. |
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After the death of his father in 1886 Cézanne inherited the family estate and returned home where he immersed himself in country life and his joy he found in the landscape was reflected in this collection of his works. |
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Cézanne once said that 'color must reveal every interval in depth'. It was his passion. He restricted his palette colors to enable him to allow the scenery to be given depth through color composition rather than the classical methods. |
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Cézanne in Provence includes 117 of the artists' greatest oil paintings and watercolors of Provence. Through the artist and native of Aix-en-provence one learns about the countryside and her inhabitants. of Provence, its people, and its surrounding countryside. Landscapes, portraits of family, friends and staff are all featured along with the enchanting Bathers series. |
“Paul Cézanne was one of the greatest post-impressionist painters and has influenced generations of artists to the present. This landmark exhibition will focus on the sense he had of his own achievement, as a celebrant of the very particular and characteristic landscape around Aix-en-Provence,” said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. “The Gallery is deeply grateful for the cooperation of the many lenders worldwide and our museum partners in France, as well as the generosity of DaimlerChrysler in making this landmark exhibition possible.”
Title: Cézanne’s studio on the Colline des Lauves, 1930s
Photographer: John Rewald.
National Gallery of Art Library, Image Collections © 2005 Sabine Rewald.
Image Courtesy: The National Gallery of Art, Washington
“We are pleased to play a part in bringing Cézanne in Provence to the National Gallery,” said Robert Liberatore, group senior vice president, DaimlerChrysler a sponsor of the exhibit. “We have a strong commitment to making a positive impact in the communities in which we do business, and this exhibition at the National Gallery will demonstrate that commitment to visitors from around the world.”
The exhibit is accompanied with an excellent catalog entitled Cézanne in Provence.
Cézanne in Provence
National Gallery of Art, Washington:
January 29 - May 7, 2006
Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence:
June 9 - September 17, 2006