Giving Substance to Impressionism: Cézanne’s Conversation with His Contemporaries and the Old Masters

The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene), Paul Cézanne, c. 1875, oil on canvas, 2001.473

Paul Cézanne, a central figure of Post-Impressionism, famously stated, “I wanted to make of Impressionism something solid and enduring, like the art in the museums.” This statement, of course, begs the question of how exactly Cézanne tried to accomplish this. In order to understand the answer, we must examine not only the supposedly substanceless Impressionism to which he was reacting, but also but the Old Masters from whom he was drawing in his attempt to reclaim a firm foundation for Western art.

This exhibition is a centered around a painting entitled The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene), the only object in the exhibition actually created by Cézanne. The subject-matter and style of brushwork make it a good example of both Cézanne’s interaction with his contemporaries and his consideration of the Old Masters. The rest of the exhibit is composed of five oil paintings. Two, by Manet and Monet respectively, were painted in the decade preceding the creation of The Fishermen, and serve as examples of the Impressionism to which Cézanne is reacting. There are many similarities between The Fishermen and these two paintings; Cézanne recognized that he was a part of their tradition, but also sought to significantly change the course of that tradition. The other three paintings are examples of what Cézanne would have had in mind when referring to “the art in the museums.”

Fishing, Édouard Manet, c. 1862-3, oil on canvas, 57.10

The subject-matter of this painting marks it as a clear referent for The Fishermen. Both depict fishermen at work on a river, the banks of which are lined with wealthy people enjoying quiet strolls. Even the compositions are similar, as both of the rivers serve as strong diagonals around which the artists structure the paintings. The way in which the artists handle the paint, on the other hand, is markedly different. Cézanne has a much heavier hand, while Manet blends his paint very smoothly. Also, Manet pays much more attention to the human form, which he idealizes to a certain extent, whereas Cézanne leaves the features of his characters largely undefined.

La Grenouillère, Claude Monet, 1869, oil on canvas, 29.100.112

This piece was selected for the exhibition for two reasons. The first is the simple fact of the similarity of its subject-matter with that of The Fishermen, as both depict the wealthy taking their pleasure along a river. The second is the similar ways in which both artists leave many details out of the paintings, allowing for a blurry, dreamy effect, and suggesting the stream-of-consciousness natures of these paintings. The major exception to this is Monet’s treatment of the water, which is strikingly detailed compared to the rest of the painting. La Grenouillère is generally more naturalistic than The Fishermen.

Tempest, Giorgione, c. 1505, oil on canvas, Gallerie dell'Accademia

This is the oldest painting in the exhibit. It is included in the exhibit due to the powerful way that it deals with nature, something which Cézanne sought to emulate. This is also one of the earliest examples of an artist very purposefully allowing their brushstrokes to remain visible, a technique central to Cézanne’s style. This is less obvious in Tempest, but evident in Giorgione’s treatment of the thunderclouds. Through the use of this technique, going against the conventional wisdom of their times, Giorgione and Cézanne both wish for their viewers to recognize and remember the physical nature of their paintings.

Death of Actaeon, Titian, 1562, oil on canvas, the National Gallery

This painting by Titian serves as an early precedent for the blurriness in much of Cézanne’s work. The female figure’s dress, in which an impression of motion is achieved through a lack of detail or definition, is a particularly good example of this. Another example, with even clearer parallels in The Fishermen, is Titian’s treatment of the foliage in the background. Another parallel to The Fishermen can be found in the sky, with similarities between the fluffy clouds and seemingly sourceless glow of the sun, though the wildly different color schemes may distract from these resemblances.
A Forest at Dawn with a Deer Hunt, Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1635, oil on wood, 1990.196

Of the pre-Impressionism paintings in the exhibit, this is the latest. This gives it an interesting role, as, though it served as a source of inspiration for Cézanne, Rubens himself was looking back on some of the other artists in this gallery as sources of his own inspiration, particularly Titian. The strongest parallel between this painting and The Fishermen is the way that both paintings indicate that the sun is setting without actually depicting the sun itself.