Another Look at Cézanne

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 endeavor 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. A line attributed to Matisse is that Cézanne "is the father of us all" and Picasso claimed that Cézanne was “the mother hovering over us”.

Cézanne's work demonstrates a mastery of design, color, composition and draftsmanship. His often repetitive, sensitive and exploratory brushstrokes are highly characteristic and clearly recognizable. He used planes of color 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. The paintings convey Cézanne's intense study of his subjects, a searching gaze and a dogged struggle to deal with the complexity of human visual perception.

The broad and profound influence of Cézanne on later generations of artists cannot be overestimated.

Dr. Jill will be teaching a six-week online art history class on Cézanne through the Pelham Art Center. The class will take place on Friday mornings, from 10 AM - 11:00. It will run from July 9th through August 13th. Click HERE to REGISTER.