The Disinherited Spouse!

Paul Cézanne - Hortense Fiquet in a Striped Skirt - 1877-78 - Oil on canvas 28 1/2 x 22 in (72.5 x 56 cm) - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (click photo for larger image)Marie-Hortense Fiquet modeled for a number of artists. She married Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) in 1886, however she lived separately from her husband for much of their married life--and they eventually separated completely. They had very little in common—and Cézanne married Marie-Hortense, in part, because he was too uncomfortable working with other female models. The artist painted twenty-seven portraits of Marie-Hortense, right into the 1890s. However, Cézanne eventually disinherited her. Their son, Paul, was his sole heir.