Today, 19 January, was Cézanne’s  birthday, so let’s bestow him with some honor….

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) ~ Famous Works

In particular, let me show you a couple of Cézanne’s most famous paintings and why I include them here. There are several subjects (which Cézanne called ‘motifs’) that were most precious to him.  These are 1) still life paintings with apples (akin to Van Gogh’s obsession with sunflowers), 2) landscapes and  particularly those featuring Mont St Victoire, and 3) bathers.  I am showcasing an artwork for each motif.

1.

Apples and Oranges Paul C??zanne Buy this fine art print From Art.com

Arguably, Cezanne’s still life paintings are most appreciated by the public. This is possibly because Cezanne’s still lifes are not so still, and seem to be quite alife.

Though Cézanne painted still life compositions from the start of his career, it was only in later years that this genre began to occupy an essential place in his work. Apples and Oranges belongs to this period. This most famous artwork ‘Apples and Oranges’ is probably painted in the last 5 years of the 19th century, however, as the painting is not dated, none actually knows exactly when it was finished.

It forms part of a series of six still lifes produced in 1899 in Cézanne’s Parisian studio. Each painting features the same accessories: earthenware dishes and a jug decorated with a floral motif. Their arrangement is also similar, with a draped cloth, reminiscent of 17th century Flemish still lifes, closing the perspective. However, the dynamic effect created by a complex spatial construction and Cézanne’s subjective perception of the arranged objects illustrate his essentially pictorial approach. 

This artwork is currently in Musée d’Orsay in Paris, France. According to this prestigious art museum, Apples and Oranges, which combines modernity and sumptuous beauty, is the most important still life produced by Cézanne in the late 1890′s.

2. 

Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine-… Paul C??zanne Buy this fine art print From Art.com

The painting motif which held his interest through his years in Aix-en-Provence was the mountain depicted here, Mont Sainte Victoire.  This lime stone mountain is not impressive by Alpine standards, but it dominated the landscape of his Provence in a noble and commanding manner.  As Cezanne grew up in Aix, he grew up with this mountain.  As an artist, it could be said that Cezanne studied Mont Sainte Victoire the way Monet studied his water lilly pond garden.

To Cézanne, the mountain was alive. Firm as a rock, however always changing. Either Cézanne changed his perspective of the mountain by focusing in on a particular part of it, or the light changed transforming the colors and energy the mountain transmitted. He painted Mont Sainte-Victoire a many a times in the late 1800′s and early 1900′s.

3.

Study of Bathers, circa 1895-98 Paul C??zanne Buy this Fine Art Print From Art.com

While I think that his fruit still lives and his landscape paintings outnumber his paintings of ‘bathers’, this painting could be called one of his most famous paintings. 

About Cezanne ~ a Role Model on How to Never Give, Even if you have “NO Talent’”

Paul Cézanne was born in Aix-en-Provence, France, on January 19, 1839.  He was raised in a well to do family and poised to become a lawyer. However, after initiating his law school, he confronted his father with his wish to become a painter in Paris instead. Eventually his father agreed to support him in his dream, however he already returned from Paris after 6 months, disillusioned with his own capacity to paint. He had destroyed many of early paintings.   A year later, he went to Paris to try again, however he failed the entrance exam for the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (the official Painting School in Paris).

It took him till he was 30 years old for his fate and self-confidence as an artist to start taking a more positive turn.  He changed subjects (moving from morbid blacks to more colorful landscapes), he met Hortense Fiquet, who became his girlfriend. 

Subsequently he had a son, moved to the countryside and met Pissarro, a fatherly figure to him, who became his mentor.

Interior of Cezanne’s Studio at Aix-E…   Buy From Art.com

Cezanne’s Influence on the Art of Painting

Paul Cézanne was a leading French Post-Impressionist. He bridged the way from 19th century Impressionism to a revolutionary new world of 20th century Cubism. Both Matisse and Picasso are quoted saying Cézanne was “the father of us all.”

Although his radical departures were underappreciated and even ridiculed in his time, Cézanne’s studies of visual perception, geometric simplification, and experimentation with complex fractured forms kept his style changing significantly over his lifetime. Cézanne was an eccentric, solitary enigma, often working in isolation, removed even from his own family.

More on Cezanne

http://eartfair.com/blog/the-other-museums-of-paris/

http://eartfair.com/blog/the-modern-art-movements/

references:  Musee d’Orsay, gardenofpraise.com/

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Van Gogh as Prolific Painter

Even though Van Gogh was only active as a painter for a decade, today he is one of the most famous artists. In that decade that Van Gogh was a painter, i.e. 1880-1890, he was an extra-ordinarily prolific artist. As well, he rapidly developed from novice to master artist.

Of the works Van Gogh created, 860 paintings, almost 1200 works on paper have been preserved. The vast majority, i.e. 201 paintings and 437 drawings, sketches and watercolors and 31 prints, can be found in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Almond Branches in Bloom, San Remy, c… Vincent van Gogh Buy From Art.com

“Drawing is the root of everything” ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Most of the drawings and prints are not on permanent display for preservation reasons: they are too sensitive to light and too valuable to be deteriorating. Special exhibitions to see those rare works are however organized from time to time, like in 2007, to celebrate the publication of new catalogs of Van Gogh’s drawings.

Van Gogh Museum Charter

It is the charter of the Van Gogh Museum to offer an elaborate overview of the art by Vincent Van Gogh. The Van Gogh Museum is also able to place Vincent’s art in historic and artistic perspective, as the art museum holds an extensive collection of artwork by other 19th century painters and sculptures.

Specifically, the museum presents a broad range of paintings, graphic art and sculpture form the period 1840-1920, including displays of Realism, Impressionism, and Post-impressionism, Salon and Symbolist Art. Many of these works were made by artists who Van Gogh admired, including progressive painters like Paul Gauguin and Georges Seurat, but also traditional painters like Ary Scheffer. The collection is still growing and many additional works of art have been purchased, donated or loaned to the museum in recent years.

Given that the Van Gogh museum hold the largest collection of his works, it is a very popular art destination. In 2008, the Van Gogh museum had almost 1.5 million visitors.

Dedication to Research of Van Gogh, his Art, his Time

Part of the top floor of the museum is dedicated to Van Gogh research. There are reference materials in its library that can not be found elsewhere. There are over 24,000 books on Van Gogh and other 19th-century artists.

The Evolution of the Van Gogh Museum’s Collection

During his career, Vincent Van Gogh had to rely on his brother, Theo, for financial support. Theo was an art dealer who valued Vincent’s work. Therefore, upon Van Gogh’s death in 1980, Theo owned most of Vincent’s work. Theo died just half a year later, so that his wife, Johanna Van Gogh and subsequently, her son Vincent Willem van Gogh, obtained stewardship of the collection. Johanna is the person who invested significant time to put together the Van Gogh letters for publication.*

Van Gogh’s Chair Vincent Van Gogh

In 1962, all works then owned by the Van Gogh family were bought by the Vincent Van Gogh Foundation. with the funds of the Dutch government supplied the funds for the art acquisition and for the design and construction of the museum building. The museum itself is a work of art in its own right and is designed by architect / designer Gerrit Rietveld. The museum first opened in 1973.

Other Museums Holding Van Gogh Art Collections

Other good collections of Vincent Van Gogh art can be found in two other European museums. The first is the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, The Netherlands. This wonderful museum set in a forest holds a large collection of excellent works of art by Van Gogh. The third-best location to see a good collection of Van Gogh’s artwork would be the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, France. The remainder of Van Gogh’s art is spread over many museums and private collections held in The Netherlands, US, Japan and elsewhere.

Footnote

* Vincent van Gogh was a great and continuous letter writer, writing mostly to his beloved brother, Theo. In over 800 letters, he set out his thoughts and ideas. He discussed his views on the art of his contemporaries, such as Emile Bernard and Paul Gauguin. The vast majority of these letters are being kept in the Van Gogh Museum. Collectively they form an unusually detailed source of insights and factual information about the work and life of Vincent Van Gogh.

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