Portrait of Gustave Geffroy
Portrait of Gustave Geffroy | |
---|---|
Artist | Paul Cézanne |
Year | 1895 (1895) |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 110 cm × 89 cm (43 in × 35 in) |
Location | Musée d'Orsay, Paris |
Portrait of Gustave Geffroy is a c. 1895 painting by the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne. It portrays Gustave Geffroy, a French novelist and art critic noted as one of the earliest historians of Impressionism.[1]
Background
In March 1894, Geffroy wrote a sympathetic article in the periodical Le Journal praising the work of painter Paul Cézanne who until then had received little praise in critical circles.[2] Mutual friend Claude Monet arranged for a meeting between the two in November of that year which ended abruptly due to Cézanne's oft-noted erratic behavior.[3] Nonetheless, Geffroy continued to write favorably of Cézanne, believing, "He is a great teller of truth. Passionate and candid, silent and subtle, he will go to The Louvre."[4] Cézanne expressed thanks in letters to Geffroy in the months following their meeting and, in a display of gratitude (and possible feeling that Geffroy understood him), he elected to paint Geffroy's portrait.[2]
Subject's response
The painter sent the critic a request in April 1895, after which Geffroy sat for Cézanne daily over a span of three months in the study at his home in Paris.[3] After the three months' time, Cézanne, disappointed with the portrait's results, fled both the painting and Paris itself for his home in Aix-en-Provence. In a July 6 letter to Monet, he explained, "I am a little upset at the meager result I obtained, especially after so many sittings and successive bursts of enthusiasm and despair."[5] It has also been speculated that, despite his words of gratitude in the same letter to Monet noting Geffroy's patience over the three-month span, the artist had built up feelings of resentment, even hostility, toward the critic, causing his abandonment of the project for seclusion in Aix.[6] Reasons for the breakdown in relations on Cézanne's part have been attributed to everything from politics to artistic principles to religion.[2][7]
Legacy
Cézanne was unhappy with the painting and it was never finished, yet Portrait of Gustave Geffroy became a popular retrospective work after his death.[7] Cubist painters were interested in the geometrical dimensions of the bookcase and perspective of vast table space in relation to the rest of the pictorial space.[7] Geffroy noted that Cézanne painted the entire canvas at once, leaving the face and hands for last; they were ultimately unfinished.[6][7] The portrait has been described as angular, with the figure of Geffroy centered as a pyramidal or triangular figure, and surrounded by shelves, books and figurines complementing and converging on top of his profile.[8] The multiple angles of perspective, particularly with the books both in cases and on the table, have been noted for their "zig-zag" effect on the viewer, creating movement within the painting.[6]
The portrait has been noted as the continuation of a recurring Cézanne theme: people in their natural environment, reserved and unimposing, immersed in their everyday tasks.[9] It has also been compared to the earlier Portrait of Duranty by Edgar Degas, from which critics have speculated Cézanne drew inspiration.[6][7]
The painting was donated to the French state in 1969 by the family of collector Auguste Pellerin[10] and is on permanent display at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.
See also
References
- ^ "Geffroy, Gustave". Dictionary of Art Historians. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
- ^ a b c Newton, 41-42
- ^ a b Murphy, 100-01
- ^ Murphy, 163-64
- ^ Wadley, 103
- ^ a b c d Howard, 135
- ^ a b c d e "Paul Cézanne: Gustave Geffroy". Musée d'Orsay. 2006. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
- ^ Wadley, 59
- ^ Schapiro, 100
- ^ "Gustave Geffroy 1895-96". National Gallery of Australia. 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-30.
Sources
- Howard, Michael. Cézanne. New York: Gallery Books, 1990. ISBN 0-8317-2827-2
- Murphy, Richard W. The World of Cézanne. New York: Time-Life Books, 1968.
- Newton, Joy. Cézanne's Literary Incarnations. French Studies: A Quarterly Review 61.1, 2007. 36-46.
- Schapiro, Meyer. Cézanne. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988. ISBN 0-8109-1043-8
- Wadley, Nicholas. Cézanne and his art. New York: Galahad, 1975. ISBN 0-88365-248-X
- v
- t
- e
- List of paintings
- The Negro Scipion (1867)
- The Overture to Tannhäuser (1869)
- L'Estaque, Melting Snow (c. 1871)
- The Hanged Man's House (1873)
- L'Après-midi à Naples (c. 1876)
- The Eternal Feminine (c. 1877)
- View of Auvers-sur-Oise (1879–80)
- Three Bathers (1879-1882)
- Portrait of Louis Guillaume (1879–1882)
- Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley (1882–1885)
- Chestnut Trees and Farm at Jas de Bouffan (c. 1884)
- Mont Sainte-Victoire seen from Bellevue (1885)
- House in Provence (1885)
- Chestnut Trees and Farm at Jas de Bouffan (c. 1886)
- Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine (c. 1887)
- Portrait of Madame Cézanne with Loosened Hair (1883–1887)
- The Banks of the Marne (1888)
- Pierrot and Harlequin (1888-1890)
- Still Life with Peaches and Pears (1888-1890)
- View of the Domaine Saint-Joseph (late 1880s)
- The Basket of Apples (c. 1893)
- Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier (1893–1894)
- The Boy in the Red Vest (1894–1895)
- Portrait of Gustave Geffroy (1895)
- Bridge Across a Pond (1895-1898)
- Seated Peasant (c. 1892-1896)
- Portrait of Ambroise Vollard (1899)
- Pipe Smoker Leaning on a Table (1895-1900)
- Women Bathing (c. 1900)
- Lady in Blue (c. 1900)
- Pyramid of Skulls (1901)
- Forest (1902–1904)
- The Bunch of Flowers (1902-1904)
- The Bathers (1898–1905)
- Still Life with Teapot (1902–1906)
- La Montagne Sainte-Victoire vue du bosquet du Château Noir (1904)
- The Card Players (1890–1895)
- Mont Sainte-Victoire (1904-1906)
- Marie-Hortense Fiquet (model and wife)
- Homage to Cézanne (1900 painting)
- The Impressionists (2006 series)
- Cézanne and I (2016 film)
- Cézanne (crater)