Cézanne
Lesson 2
Paul Cézanne (say ZAHN) 1839-1906
When Cézanne was called the father of modern art by other artists, they meant that Cézanne’s art was where modern art began. He gave artists a new way of looking at the objects that they paint. Many modern artists pointed to Cézanne when people asked them who had inspired their new ideas. Paul Cézanne studied art with Monet and Pissarro, but he did not like the wispy lines that the Impressionists had developed. He painted more carefully, often in parallel strokes. His strokes are described as building blocks stacked together to make a solid object. He painted still lifes with groups of fruit, vases, and fabric. Sometimes he painted
his favorite mountain view. These objects stood still for him, unlike people, who wiggled, shifted, and wore at Cézanne’s patience. Cézanne took great care when arranging each still life. He would sometimes stiffen the cloth with plaster so that it would not move while he painted it day after day. Cézanne propped up fruit
with coins to get the heights just right (Taschen 56). He turned the apples until the stems were placed in directions that seemed right to him. Cézanne wanted “to make of Impressionism something solid and durable, like the art of the museums.” He could not foresee that young artists, inspired by his art, would create art far different from what he saw in museums. They would search for bold newways to paint.
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