By Darla McCammon

We continue to explore the life of Paul Cézanne this week as we finish up our studies of the World’s Most Famous Artists. Originally rejected from the Salon exhibits, Cézanne ignored this snub and found a home initially with the impressionist exhibitors. He began to stray away from that type of work and moved in a very different direction.

Paul Cézanne’s painting “Houses in Provence” done in1880. Photo provided

From the 1800s, Aix-en-Provence became the home territory for Cézanne due to the way the climate was conducive to good light day after day—a perfect environment for the type of work that our artist had migrated to favor. He maintained his friendship with Pissarro and wrote him about his work, saying, “I have rejected the typical modeling technique and perspective by the study of color tones. The sun here is so terrific.  I may be mistaken but this seems the opposite of modeling.”

One has only to study his painting “Houses in Provence,” done in1880, to see how his work changed. Critics have pointed out how this painting shows more underlying form and calm and structural geometry that is in direct opposition to the impressionists with their loose, casual definitions and studies. During this period, Cezanne definitely migrated into what has been called a direct contribution to what became modern art, including cubism. 

Cezanne did not abandon everything in his search to move away from his friends in the impressionist movement. He continued to do portraits, but he worked very slowly, deliberately. His portrait of his art dealer friend, Ambroise Vollard, took over one hundred individual sittings. His portraits bore good resemblance to his subject, but critics often viewed them as stilted and stiff compared to his  post-impressionist development as an artist. Today he is identified as both a post-impressionist as well as the father of Cubism. Even Ernest Hemingway found something in Cézanne’s work to applaud when he said, “I was learning something from the painting of Cézanne that made writing simple true sentences far from enough to make the stories have the dimensions that I was trying to put in them”

Favorable critiques began to fall in place for Cézanne after his death in October 1906. His paintings began to sell for fortunes, including the famous sale of his work titled “The Card Players,” which was purchased in 2011 for the then astronomical sum between $250 and $300 million by the Royal family of Qatar.

Many accolades were given to the work by Cézanne after his death. But perhaps the best way to end our tribute to all the artists we have covered in this series is to quote what Picasso said in his reference to Cézanne when he said, “He is the father of us all!”  Picasso later stated, “He is my one and only master!”

I hope you have found this series informative and interesting.  Art surrounds us, if we are astute enough to look for it and appreciate the gift so many artists have given us.

EVENTS:  Warsaw City Hall Sherri Johnson Beautiful Batik Art to enjoy or purchase. Available to view through December.  Coming in January, Madelene Bussart.  Warsaw City Hall. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Always good art at Lakeland Art Gallery 11:30 a.m.  to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. 302 E. Winona Ave. Warsaw, IN 46580 Phone: (574)-267-5568. Want to be an exhibitor at Warsaw City Hall Art Gallery? Very good exposure for your work and good publicity about you.  Just drop me an email to [email protected]  Subject: Art exhibit. F