CÉZANNE Portraits
From March 25 through July 1, 2018
NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART
Paul Cézanne, “Self-Portrait with Bowler Hat” (detail), 1885–1886, oil on canvas, overall: 44.5 x 35.5 cm (17 1/2 x 14 in.) framed: 66.1 x 57.3 x 7.8 cm (26 x 22 9/16 x 3 1/16 in.) Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen. Photograph: Ole Haupt.
Some 60 paintings drawn from collections around the world, Cézanne Portraits is
the first exhibition devoted exclusively to this often-neglected genre of his work.
The revelatory exhibition explores the pictorial and thematic characteristics of Paul Cézanne’s (1839–1906) portraits, the chronological development of his style and method, and the range and influence of his sitters. Cézanne painted almost 200 portraits, The exhibition presents a selection of portraits that reveals the most personal and human aspects of Cézanne’s art.
The Early Years 1859-1872
Cézanne made his first portrait in the early 1860s, although it was not until 1866 that he began to paint portraits in earnest. Often painting family and friends with whom he felt comfortable, his early works were stylistically influenced by Gustave Courbet’s and Édouard Manet’s Parisian portraits.
The family paintings include large portraits of his father, small paintings of his mother and sisters, and about nine portraits of his uncle, the bailiff Dominique Aubert, and provocative paintings of poet and art critic Antony Valabrègue and the artist Achille Emperaire.
Paul Cézanne
The Artist’s Father,
Reading “L’Événement”
1866, oil on canvas
Overall: 198.5 x 119.3 cm (78 1/8 x 46 15/16 in.)
framed: 224.2 x 144.8 x 10.1 cm (88 1/4 x 57 x 4 in.)National Gallery of Art, Washington,
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
DETAIL
Paul CézanneUncle Dominique
c. 1866, oil on canvas
Overall: 40.3 x 31.5 cm (15 7/8 x 12 3/8 in.)
Private Collection
Photograph © 2017 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
DETAIL
Paul CézanneAntony Valabrègue
1866, oil on canvas
Overall: 116.3 x 98.4 cm (45 13/16 x 38 3/4 in.)
framed: 144.8 x 127 x 11.4 cm (57 x 50 x 4 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington,
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
DETAIL
Paul Cézanne
Antony Valabrègue
1869–1871, oil on canvas
Unframed: 60 x 50.2 cm. (23 5/8 x 19 3/4 in.)
framed: 71.8 x 61.9 x 3.5 cm.
(28 1/4 x 24 3/8 x 1 3/8 in.)
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
DETAIL
Between 1872 and 1892
Paul CézanneSelf-Portrait
c. 1875, oil on canvas65 x 54 cm (25 9/16 x 21 1/4 in.)
Musée d’Orsay, Paris, gift of Jacques Laroche,
1947© RMN-Grand Palais
(Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
DETAIL
Paul CézanneVictor Chocquet
1876–1877, oil on canvas
Unframed: 46 x 36 cm (18 1/8 x 14 3/16 in.)
Private Collection
Photograph © Bridgeman Images
DETAIL
Paul CézanneVictor Chocquet
1877, oil on canvas
Overall: 45.72 x 38.1 cm (18 x 15 in.)
Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio
Museum Purchase, Howald Fund 1950.024
DETAIL
Paul CézanneMadame Cézanne in a Red Armchair
1877, oil on canvas
Overall: 72.4 x 55.9 cm (28 1/2 x 22 in.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
Bequest of Robert Treat Paine, 2nd
Photograph © 2017 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
DETAIL
Paul CézanneLouis Guillaume
c. 1882, oil on canvas
Overall: 55.9 x 46.7 cm (22 x 18 3/8 in.)
framed: 88.9 x 78.7 cm (35 x 31 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington,
Chester Dale Collection
DETAIL
Paul CézanneMadame Cézanne in a Striped Dress
1883–1885, oil on canvas
Overall: 57 x 47 cm (22 7/16 x 18 1/2 in.)
framed: 86 x 77 x 14 cm
(33 7/8 x 30 5/16 x 5 1/2 in.)
Yokohama Museum of Art
DETAIL
Paul CézanneSelf-Portrait with Bowler Hat
1885–1886, oil on canvas
Overall: 44.5 x 35.5 cm (17 1/2 x 14 in.)
framed: 66.1 x 57.3 x 7.8 cm
(26 x 22 9/16 x 3 1/16 in.)
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen
Photograph: Ole Haupt
DETAIL
Paul CézanneMadame Cézanne
1886–1887, oil on canvas
Unframed: 46 x 38 cm (18 1/8 x 14 15/16 in.)
framed: 62.9 x 54.8 x 8.7 cm
(24 3/4 x 21 9/16 x 3 7/16 in.)
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Samuel S. White 3rd
and Vera White Collection, 1967
DETAIL
Paul CézanneMadame Cézanne in Blue
1888–1890, oil on canvas
Unframed: 74 x 61 cm (29 1/8 x 24 in.)
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,
The Robert Lee Blaffer Memorial Collection,
gift of Sarah Campbell Blaffer, 47.29
DETAIL
Paul CézanneMadame Cézanne in a Red Dress
1888–1890, oil on canvas
Unframed: 81 x 65 cm (31 7/8 x 25 9/16 in.)
The Art Institute of Chicago, Wilson L. Mead Fund
DETAIL
Paul CézanneMadame Cézanne in a Striped Dress
1890–1892, oil on canvas
Unframed: 62 x 51 cm (24 7/16 x 20 1/16 in.)
framed: 87.3 x 74.5 x 5.4 cm
(34 3/8 x 29 5/16 x 2 1/8 in.)
Philadelphia Museum of Art,
The Henry P. McIlhenny Collection in memory of
Frances P. McIlhenny, 1986
DETAIL
.
Paul CézanneThe Artist’s Son, Paul
1885/1890, oil on canvas
Overall: 65.3 x 54 cm (25 11/16 x 21 1/4 in.)
framed: 90.8 x 80.6 cm (35 3/4 x 31 3/4 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington,
Chester Dale Collection
DETAIL
Boy in a Red Waistcoat. Cézanne also painted several portraits of the model Michelangelo de Rosa in Italian garb. The Gallery’s version, Boy in a Red Waistcoat (1888–1890), is the largest, most resolved of these portraits. Influenced by 16th-century mannerists such as Bronzino and Pontormo who painted iconic images of urban, male adolescents, Cézanne presents a moving, formally innovative image of a boy morphing into manhood.
Paul CézanneBoy in a Red Waistcoat
1888–1890, oil on canvas
Overall: 89.5 x 72.4 cm (35 1/4 x 28 1/2 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington,
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, in Honor of the 50th
Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
DETAIL
During the 1890s
Cézanne began to paint portraits of local people in and around his native Aix-en-Provence. His portraits of agricultural laborers record his admiration for people who had grown old without changing their ways. The paintings of domestic servants and children indirectly reflect Cézanne’s increasing preoccupation with old age. Included among these works are Child in a Straw Hat (1896), Man in a Blue Smock (c. 1897), Portrait of a Woman (c. 1900), and Seated Peasant (c. 1900–1904), all of which are in the exhibition.
Paul CézanneChild in a Straw Hat
1896, oil on canvas
Overall: 68.9 x 58.1 cm (27 1/8 x 22 7/8 in.)
framed: 92.71 x 81.28 x 10.16 cm
(36 1/2 x 32 x 4 in.)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
Mr. and Mrs. George Gard De Sylva Collection
DETAIL
Paul CézanneMan in a Blue Smock
c.1897, oil on canvas
Unframed: 80 x 63.5 cm (31 1/2 x 25 in.)
Kimbell Art Museum, Forth Worth, Texas.
Acquired in 1980 and dedicated to the memory of
Richard F. Brown
DETAIL
Paul CézannePortrait of a Woman
c.1900, oil on canvas
Unframed: 65 x 54 cm (25 9/16 x 21 1/4 in.)
framed: 35 5/8 x 31 1/2 in.
Private Collection
DETAIL
Paul CézanneGustave Geffroy
1895–1896, oil on canvas
117 x 89.5 cm (46 1/16 x 35 1/4 in.)
Musée d’Orsay, Paris,
gift of the Pellerin family, 1969
Photograph © RMN-Grand Palais
(Musée d’Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski
DETAIL
Paul CézanneMan with Pipe
c. 1896, oil on canvas
Unframed: 73 x 60 cm (28 3/4 x 23 5/8 in.)
framed: 98.4 x 85.2 cm (38 3/4 x 33 9/16 in.)
The Samuel Courtauld Trust,
The Courtauld Gallery, London
DETAIL
Paul CézanneAmbroise Vollard
1899, oil on canvas
Unframed: 101 x 81 cm (39 3/4 x 31 7/8 in.)
framed: 120.5 x 101.5 x 9 cm
(47 7/16 x 39 15/16 x 3 9/16 in.)
Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts
de la Ville de Paris
Photograph © RMN-Grand Palais (Musée d’Orsay) / Agence Bulloz
DETAIL
Paul CézanneMan with Crossed Arms
c.1899, oil on canvas
Unframed: 92 x 73 cm (36 1/4 x 28 3/4 in.)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
DETAIL
1900-1906
Of the 100 paintings Cézanne made between 1900 and 1906, only about 20 are portraits, seven of which were painted outside. During this period, Cézanne painted his final self-portrait, Self-Portrait with Beret (1898–1900), on view in the exhibition, which depicts a fragile, prematurely aged but still vehement figure. The subjects of these later portraits are local men, women, and children as well as a pair of portraits of his sister, Marie, depicted in a blue dress, and five paintings of his gardener, Vallier, three of which are on view.
Paul CézanneSelf-Portrait with Beret
1898–1900, oil on canvas
Overall: 72.4 x 55.9 cm (28 1/2 x 22 in.)
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
Charles H. Bayley Picture and Painting Fund
and Partial Gift of Elizabeth Paine Metcalf
Photograph © 2017 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
DETAIL
Paul CézanneSeated Peasant
c.1900–1904, oil on canvas
Overall: 72 x 58.5 cm (28 3/8 x 23 1/16 in.)
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Photograph © Musée d’Orsay,
Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Patrice Schmidt
DETAIL
Paul CézanneThe Gardener Vallier
1906, oil on canvas
Overall: 107.4 x 74.5 cm (42 5/16 x 29 5/16 in.)
framed: 131.4 x 97.8 x 6.9 cm
(51 3/4 x 38 1/2 x 2 11/16 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington,
Gift of Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer
DETAIL
STATEMENT
Earl A. Powell III,
director, National Gallery of Art.
“This exhibition provides an unrivaled opportunity to reveal the extent and depth of Cézanne’s achievement in portraiture,” “The partnership between the National Gallery of Art, the National Portrait Gallery in London, and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris has made it possible to explore his working techniques as well as his intellectual solutions to representation in these exceptional portraits.”
CURATORS
The exhibition is curated by John Elderfield, chief curator emeritus of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, with Mary Morton, curator and head of the department of French paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Xavier Rey, formerly director of collections at the Musée d’Orsay, now director of the museums of Marseille.
Exhibition Organization and Support
The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the National Portrait Gallery, London, and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
The exhibition in Washington is made possible through the generous support of the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation.
The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
CATALOGUE
The exhibition is accompanied by a 256-page, fully illustrated catalog with essays by the exhibition curators—John Elderfield, chief curator emeritus of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, with Mary Morton, curator and head of the department of French paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Xavier Rey, director of the museums of Marseille. Also included are a biographical essay on Cézanne’s sitters by biographer Alex Danchev and a chronology of the artist’s life by Jayne Warman.
This catalog establishes portraiture as an essential practice for Cézanne, from his earliest self-portraits in the 1860s . The authors investigate the chronological evolution of his portrait work, with an examination of the changes that occurred within his artistic style and method, and in his understanding of resemblance and identity. They also consider the extent to which particular sitters influenced the characteristics and development of Cézanne’s practice. Beautifully illustrated with works of art drawn from public and private collections around the world, Cézanne Portraitspresents an astonishingly broad range of images that reveals the most personal and human qualities of this remarkable artist. The catalog is available for purchase on; shop.nga.gov; (800) 697-9350 (phone); (202) 789-3047 (fax); or [email protected]
RELATED ACTIVITIES
Lecture
Introduction to the Exhibition—Cézanne Portraits
March 25, 2:00 p.m.
East Building Auditorium
Mary Morton, curator and head, department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art
Concert
Benedetto Lupo, piano
March 25, 3:30 p.m.
West Building, East Garden Court
In conjunction with Cézanne Portraits and on the 100th anniversary of the death of French composer Claude Debussy, Lupo performs an entire concert of Debussy’s most important solo piano works.
Film
Cézanne—Portraits of a Life
March 25, 4:30 p.m.
East Building Auditorium
American premiere
Award-winning filmmaker Phil Grabsky and his cinema production house known as Exhibition on Screen had access to the creators of the landmark exhibition Cézanne Portraits. Filming extensively in Paris and Provence, the team delved deeply into the biography of the great artist. Cézanne’s letters are read by Emmy-winning actor Brian Cox. Participating curators include Mary Morton from the National Gallery of Art. (Phil Grabsky, 2018, English and French with subtitles, 85 minutes)
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