Paul Cézanne: Journey into Post-Impressionism (Elijah Harris)

  Paul Cézanne is an oil painter from France who is highly praised nowadays for his masterful ability to communicate form and depth in his paintings. What makes his case so special however is that he creates the illusions of form and depth not by using shape and value, but instead by using color, which was a completely mind-blowing technique for his day and age. The day and age in question started on January 19, 1839 and continued until October 22, 1906, these being the date of his birth and the date of his death respectively. Cézanne is best known for the more post-impressionist style paintings that he did in his later years, the ones that went on to inspire the Fauves and Cubists. But he wasn’t always a master painter, he too had to painstakingly learn the delicate art of oil painting, the difference for him was that he was in almost completely uncharted waters so there was no one to teach him, meaning the only person he could learn from was himself. This exhibition will demonstrate the shift towards the post-impressionist style that Cézanne is known for, starting in 1874 with a more traditional piece and ending in 1906 with one of his final pieces and one that was done in his signature style.

Bathers, Paul Cézanne, (French, Aix-en-Provence 1839–1906 Aix-en-Provence), 1874–75, Oil on canvas, 15 x 18 1/8 in. (38.1 x 46 cm)

Accession Number: 1976.201.12

    Bathers is one of his much earlier works, but even then, when it is displayed and viewed as a stand alone piece it is still an impressive painting. If praising the piece was the goal then one could easily note a whole list of things, like how the horizontal ⅔ composition creates a type of stillness within the painting that adds a lot to the already calm scene. However when compared to his later works, Bathers comes across as extremely flat due to lack of differentiation between the foreground and background. It also features an extremely small and bland selection of colors when compared to his later works.

The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene), Paul Cézanne (French, Aix-en-Provence 1839–1906 Aix-en-Provence), ca. 1875, Oil on canvas, 21 3/4 x 32 1/4 in. (55.2 x 81.9 cm)

Accession Number: 2001.473

Here we can see that Cézanne has somewhat improved his ability to depict depth, seeing as to how he differentiates the foreground from the background in this piece . In The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene) his color selection has also definitely improved, here, his palette is larger and more diverse than it was in Bathers but once again he is still very far from living up to the potential that we, in hindsight, know he has.

Here we can see that Cézanne has somewhat improved his ability to depict depth, seeing as to how he differentiates the foreground from the background in this piece . In The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene) his color selection has also definitely improved, here, his palette is larger and more diverse than it was in Bathers but once again he is still very far from living up to the potential that we, in hindsight, know he has.  

Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley, Paul Cézanne (French, Aix-en-Provence 1839–1906 Aix-en-Provence), 1882–85, Oil on canvas, 25 3/4 x 32 1/8 in. (65.4 x 81.6 cm), H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929

Accession Number: 29.100.64

    Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley is one of a few paintings done by Cézanne that really seem to mark a turning point in his artistic style and career. It is here, on the third painting in the exhibition, where we seem to get something of a sneak peak into the future and the way that Cézanne will eventually learn to use color. Yet still, for Cézanne this is only the start. We can see that, while they do look great, the colors in this painting are not yet strong enough to stand by themselves, and therefore Cézanne ends up having to continue relying on the heavy use of line in order to convey form.

Gardanne, Paul Cézanne (French, Aix-en-Provence 1839–1906 Aix-en-Provence), 1885–86, Oil on canvas, 31 1/2 x 25 1/4 in. (80 x 64.1 cm), Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Franz H. Hirschland, 1957

Accession Number: 57.181

    The abrupt leap in style and quality between the paintings is already slightly jarring when moving from one piece to the next, but the leap from Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley to this painting is by far the most drastic. By this point we are able to see that Cézanne has really started leaning into post-impressionism, and it is around this time period where he starts to get comfortable with new methods of painting.

View of the Domaine Saint-Joseph, Paul Cézanne (French, Aix-en-Provence 1839–1906 Aix-en-Provence), late 1880s, Oil on canvas, 25 5/8 x 32 in. (65.1 x 81.3 cm)

Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Collection, Wolfe Fund, 1913

Accession Number: 13.66

    This tends to be seen as one of Cézanne’s more unique paintings. This painting serves as a great example of how experimental Cézanne would sometimes seem to get, seeing as how many scholars have been stumped by the finished yet also unfinished nature of this piece. Here we get to see Cézanne show off his incredible ability to take “color”, as an element of art, and masterfly convert it into an art piece. Whereas many artists use line and/or shape as their foundation, Cézanne managed to find a way to make his color. 

Mont Sainte-Victoire, Paul Cézanne (French, Aix-en-Provence 1839–1906 Aix-en-Provence), ca. 1902–6, Oil on canvas, 22 1/2 x 38 1/4 in. (57.2 x 97.2 cm), The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Gift of Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, 1994, Bequest of Walter H. Annenberg, 2002

Accession Number: 1994.420

    This is one of the last paintings Cézanne ever did, seeing as how it was finished in 1906, the same year that he died. Yet somehow it feels like the perfect final piece for this exhibition, as we are brought back to the mountain that fascinated Cézanne for so many years and the one that marked almost every step in his artistic journey. This piece also serves a symbolic purpose, because it is literally and figuratively the highest peak of his artistic abilities. This little, abstract, painting of a mountain seems humble enough, yet every single color in combination with every single brushstroke on the canvas is the culmination of decades and decades of work and practice, and it is a perfect representation of Cézanne’s legacy.  

Jean-Francois Millet Varies Greatly in His Subject Matter

Millet’s style is similar in many of his paintings and drawings. For example, you can see that the same artist painted The Shepherd and His Flock as drew The Sower. However, his subject matter changes drastically. Much of his art does contain people, but the atmosphere of the scenes and pictures varies greatly. For example, his painting Haystacks: Autumn is a field with grass, a flock of sheep, their shepherd, and three large haystacks in the background; but his print Digger has a black background with a man in overalls digging. While both of these involve people doing outside work, which is lower class work, the general sense of the two artworks is vastly different. While Haystacks has a calm picture of a pasture with sheep, Digger is filled with activity. In the print there is the obvious action, the person who is actually digging, but there is also an energetic sense in the area surrounding the man, Millet has put scribbles of white and black in this area. These seemingly random scribbles evoke feelings of energy in the viewer. An artist can have a style of creating, while varying greatly in subject matter and ambience, this is demonstrated in Millet’s broad spectrum of interest and emotions.

Jean-Francois Millet, Shepherd and His Flock, late 19th century

Pastel on papier bleuté, 10 x 12 1/4 in. (25.4 x 31.1 cm)

1975.1.670

Here Millet uses what appears to be the same field and town as in his Haystacks: Autumn painting, though it seems to be winter instead of autumn here. It has a very scratchy style to the texture, there are several black marks throughout it, except in the sky, which can cause the viewer to feel uncomfortable. In contrast to the painting, the shepherd is in the foreground instead of behind the flock of sheep. The shepherd here seems to be deep in thought, he is leaning on his staff and staring into space.

Jean-Francois Millet, Digger, 1863

Woodcut on laid paper; second (final) state; posthumous edition,  block: 4 1/8 x 5 1/2 in. (10.5 x 14 cm)

17.13.34

The print, Digger, is incredibly dramatized in this version. The original version is quite simply a man digging with a white background. Here, however, Millet has made the background almost entirely black with several scratch marks and scribbles scattered throughout. This can give the viewer a sense of shock and confusion. These aspects also cause an aura of mystery or morbidity, is this man digging up a grave or an artifact?

Jean-Francois Millet, Haystacks: Autumn, ca. 1874

Oil on canvas, 33 1/2 x 43 3/8 in. (85.1 x 110.2 cm)

60.71.12

Haystacks: Autumn as a very peaceful painting, its brushstrokes are smoothed over and colors are largely pastel in shade. Millet’s subject is a flock of sheep whose shepherd is standing next to a haystack in the background. This peacefulness is, however, counteracted slightly by the dark clouds overhead, they may be storm clouds or simply dark clouds. The style of the painting is somewhat loose, and the three large haystacks, for example, seem to melt into the sky behind in places.

Jean-Francois Millet, Digger, !863

Woodcut in brown ink on laid paper; second (final) state; posthumous impression, block: 5 1/2 x 4 1/8 in. (14 x 10.5 cm)

17.34.14

The man pictured in this print, appears to be digging a post hole or some other mundane task. It is a very active scene, and he has thrown his hat on the ground to better be able to work. The piece itself is very simple with plain white paper and brown ink, which helps put the emphasis on the activity of the man. While another version of the Digger depicts the same man, the ink in it is black and the background is filled with scribbles giving it a chaotic atmosphere.

Jean-Francois Millet, The Sower, 1851

Lithograph on thin laid paper; second (final) state; 1879 or later; posthumous impression, image: 7 5/8 x 5 1/4 in. (19.4 x 13.3 cm)

sheet: 11 x 7 7/8 in. (27.9 x 20 cm)

frame: 21 x 16 in. (53.3 cm)

23.65.11

    This print is very loose in style. Overall, the picture is calm and gives the impression of an average day. The focus is on manual labor with a sower in the foreground and a man plowing in the background. This scene can be viewed as cheerful, but could also bring to mind a sense of tiredness that comes at the end of a long day of work. Millet’s marks here portray this print as unfinished, though that seems to be intentional.

Cranial Connections

 For there to be a skull, we know that something must have died. From pirate flags to cartoon poison labels, skulls typically carry the messages of death and decomposition. But there seems to be a little more nuance in the case of animal skulls. When you see a mounted deer head, or a cow skull, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it danger? That one small town bar? Texas? Whatever preconceptions and connotations animal skulls may hold over us, there is a certain amount of leeway in their interpretation. Animal skulls have spanned every century and culture, creating a large amount of subject matter, for a large volume of art. This art provides us with a window into the different symbolisms of animal expiration. 

This exhibition has been curated to compare the various impressions the death of animals and their skulls have left on different cultures, time period’s, and artists. Hopefully, the pieces on display here will widen the lens of death, to the perspectives implied by the depicted. Through these diverse interpretations, we are invited to contemplate how history has viewed these symbols, and to create a well informed perspective for ourselves. From life to death, fragility to fertility, the art here proposes views that are larger than any single narrative. 

Artist: Albert Bierstadt (American, Solingen 1830–1902 New York), Title: The Rocky Mountains, Lander's Peak, Date: 1863, Culture: American, Medium: Oil on canvas, Dimensions: 73 1/2 x 120 3/4 in. (186.7 x 306.7 cm), Accession Number: 07.123.

A grand scene of mountains spans the background of the piece, with a lake and waterfall before them. There are native Americans camped along the water preparing animals from a recent hunt in the forests that surround them. These animals provide sustenance and represent the bounty of the nature. Yet, if we zoom in on the bottom of the painting, we’ll notice the remains of another animal. Not a carcass providing meat, but a bleached white skull picked dry of any amenity. Even in this single painting, we see the contrast between dead animals representing sustenance, and, at the same time, the ugly result of cyclical nature. 

Artist: Georgia O'Keeffe (American, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 1887–1986 Santa Fe, New Mexico), Title: From the Faraway, Nearby, Date: 1937, Medium: Oil on canvas, Dimensions: 36 × 40 1/8 in. (91.4 × 101.9 cm), Accession Number: 59.204.2.

A massive skull spanning the entirety of a mountain-ranged desert. This time, the skull,

 rather than nature, is the centerpiece of the painting. The desert, like most of the 

painting, seems glossed over since the brushstrokes are nearly imperceptible. The 

smoothness of the painting combined with the softer colors makes this barren desert 

seem almost inviting. Antlers sprouting from the brown base of the skull encircle the 

mountains and climb into the sky. O’Keeffe displays the harsh material of skull and 

desert in such a way that conveys a certain beauty in the barrenness. Here, the skull is 

given life apart from the passed animal and is shown to have beauty unto itself. 

Artist: Georgia O'Keeffe (American, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin 1887–1986 Santa Fe, New Mexico), Title: Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue, Date: 1931, Medium: Oil on canvas, Dimensions: 39 7/8 × 35 7/8 in. (101.3 × 91.1 cm), Accession Number: 52.203.

A bleached cow skull is set against a cloth background of red white and blue centered 

along a black stripe. The cut of the skull’s eye sockets combined with its angle of 

orientation, makes it seem like the skull is glaring at us. Everything about this painting 

screams power. The ominous look of the skull, the colors of the American flag, and a 

blue background that seems to spread upwards like fire. The lines are sharp, and the 

contrast between skull and flag is stark. So it would seem that even the same artist in 

the same time period depicts skulls with a diverse perspective.

Title: Bucranium, Period: Second Intermediate Period, Dynasty: Dynasty 14–17, Date: ca. 1640–1550 B.C., Geography: From Egypt. Medium: Horn, bone, paint, Dimensions: Overall H. 41.5 cm (16 5/16 in.); W. of horns 75 cm (29 1/2 in.), Accession Number: 16.2.23.

This ornately decorated skull adorned the graves of what is now believed to be the 

Medjayu people. Although the paint is now chipped and faded we can imagine the 

vivid colors and patterns that once assuredly attended this skull. The specific purpose 

of this piece may be a bit ambiguous, but it was undoubtedly created with a relation to 

death in mind. The correlation may be jubilant, spiritual, or contain some other form of 

symbolism. Regardless of the skull's true intention, this animal skull was used in 

memoriam for the deceased and was symbolically tied to death.

Title: The Stag at Bay (From Incidents in a Stag Hunt). Date: ca. 1495–1515. Culture: South Netherlandish. Medium: Wool warp, wool wefts, Dimensions: 91 x 144in. (231.1 x 365.8cm), Accession Number: 45.128.21.

Men in bright ornate clothes circle a stag. The poor beast is in the process of its demise 

as men’s dogs lunge upon it. Despite the stag’s unfortunate circumstances, the scene is 

bright and cheery. The men are wearing nice clothes, and flowers are blossoming over 

every inch of the forest floor. This scene is one of abundance, and human flourishing, 

with a dying stag front and center. Thus, by this depiction, this animal’s death and 

dying is representational of the flourishing around it.  

Artist: Arthur Rothstein, Title: The bleached skull of a steer on the dry sun-baked earth of the South Dakota Badlands, Date: 1936, Medium: 1 negative: nitrate, Dimensions: 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches or smaller, From: Library of Congress (www.loc.gov).

A black and white photograph with a cow skull front and center. The desert ground beneath it is scorched and cracked. The long shadow cast behind the horns indicates a glaring son, and the broken sand confirms it. This photograph conveys nothing if not barrenness and aridity. If we were forced to expand this photo our visual archives would probably suggest a tumbleweed and perhaps a lonely cactus. This skull helps create a scene of desolation, where it seems nothing could survive.