The bridge from Impressionism to Cubism goes squarely through the
work of the French painter Paul Cezanne. His works transformed the
entire conception of the practice of art as painters saw it in the
1800's to its twentieth century form. Both Pablo Picasso and Henri
Matisse referred to Cezanne as "the father of us all." With his hallmark
use of repetitive brushstrokes that are small in size and combine to
create complex fields that feature planes of colour, his works show the
intensity of the study of his subjects.
Cezanne himself dabbled in Impressionism while he was in Provence and Paris, from 1870 to 1878. The painter Camille Pissarro lived in Pontoise, and he would paint landscapes with Cezanne, who referred to Pissarro as "God the Father." Pissarro influenced Cezanne to move away from dark colours, and his canvases brightened significantly. Cezanne exhibited works in the first and third Impressionist shows, in 1874 and 1877 respectively. However, the reviews his works received contained outrage, sarcasm and levity instead of serious regard. As a result, Cezanne would refuse to enter a show for more than a decade after.
One example is from Louis Leroy's review of Cezanne's portrait of art collector Victor Chocquet: "This peculiar looking head, the colour of an old boot might give [a pregnant woman] a shock and cause yellow fever in the fruit of her womb before its entry into the world."
In 1882 and 1883, he painted with Impressionist titans Renoir and Monet. One point of departure between Cezanne and the mainstream Impressionists was that he felt they had wandered away from one of the grand traditions of art: a composition with structure in which the artist refines and balances the visual factors so that they work harmoniously with one another. Because the Impressionists had to paint so quickly to grab the ephemeral effects of conditions of the atmosphere.
Instead, Cezanne sought to create paintings with compositions featuring tight organization, so that Impressionist paintings could become "solid and durable, like the art of the museums."
He referred to his own works as "constructions after nature" that translated elements from the real world into colours and shapes appearing on a two-dimensional canvas. By abstracting and structuring his paintings with a careful colour, he pushed art away form representation and toward the insurrection that would become Cubism.
Works like "The Chateau at Medan," an oil work that Cezanne finished in 1880, show the coming transition. The brushstrokes on the one hand reflect the demands of Impressionism, showing the view that comes through a quick look at a particular time of day than a more permanent image. However, the brushstrokes look more solid than those of Monet, Renoir and Cezanne's other Impressionist peers. The solid colour panes that appear behind the brushstrokes are what give his paintings their solidity.
Because he insisted on maintaining that solidity, shifting the modes of representation meant that the images would have to find a way to enter the third dimension, which is why Cezanne's paintings served as a premonition of the more overtly Cubist visions of Braque and Picasso. Watching the transitions in Cezanne's own work prefigures the shifts in the art world at large.
Cezanne himself dabbled in Impressionism while he was in Provence and Paris, from 1870 to 1878. The painter Camille Pissarro lived in Pontoise, and he would paint landscapes with Cezanne, who referred to Pissarro as "God the Father." Pissarro influenced Cezanne to move away from dark colours, and his canvases brightened significantly. Cezanne exhibited works in the first and third Impressionist shows, in 1874 and 1877 respectively. However, the reviews his works received contained outrage, sarcasm and levity instead of serious regard. As a result, Cezanne would refuse to enter a show for more than a decade after.
One example is from Louis Leroy's review of Cezanne's portrait of art collector Victor Chocquet: "This peculiar looking head, the colour of an old boot might give [a pregnant woman] a shock and cause yellow fever in the fruit of her womb before its entry into the world."
In 1882 and 1883, he painted with Impressionist titans Renoir and Monet. One point of departure between Cezanne and the mainstream Impressionists was that he felt they had wandered away from one of the grand traditions of art: a composition with structure in which the artist refines and balances the visual factors so that they work harmoniously with one another. Because the Impressionists had to paint so quickly to grab the ephemeral effects of conditions of the atmosphere.
Instead, Cezanne sought to create paintings with compositions featuring tight organization, so that Impressionist paintings could become "solid and durable, like the art of the museums."
He referred to his own works as "constructions after nature" that translated elements from the real world into colours and shapes appearing on a two-dimensional canvas. By abstracting and structuring his paintings with a careful colour, he pushed art away form representation and toward the insurrection that would become Cubism.
Works like "The Chateau at Medan," an oil work that Cezanne finished in 1880, show the coming transition. The brushstrokes on the one hand reflect the demands of Impressionism, showing the view that comes through a quick look at a particular time of day than a more permanent image. However, the brushstrokes look more solid than those of Monet, Renoir and Cezanne's other Impressionist peers. The solid colour panes that appear behind the brushstrokes are what give his paintings their solidity.
Because he insisted on maintaining that solidity, shifting the modes of representation meant that the images would have to find a way to enter the third dimension, which is why Cezanne's paintings served as a premonition of the more overtly Cubist visions of Braque and Picasso. Watching the transitions in Cezanne's own work prefigures the shifts in the art world at large.
Gavin Mann
http://www.artworldexhibits.com/
At Art World Exhibits we bring you only the finest collection of oils, watercolours, prints, digital, mixed media art and sculptures. We have some amazing artists with more joining soon! Feel free to visit us at the above link whether you're looking for great art to purchase or you wish to come on board and display your own artwork to sell.
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http://www.artworldexhibits.com/
At Art World Exhibits we bring you only the finest collection of oils, watercolours, prints, digital, mixed media art and sculptures. We have some amazing artists with more joining soon! Feel free to visit us at the above link whether you're looking for great art to purchase or you wish to come on board and display your own artwork to sell.
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