By Debbie Djordjevic
Paul Cezanne, subject of a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London is often referred to as the father of modern art. His analytical approach to colour, shape and form influenced so many that came after him – the Cubists, Fauvists and many avant-garde artists. Even looking at the colours we choose to decorate our homes today, we constantly (without realising it) pay a nod to his colour palette, all muted greys, greens, blues and russets.
Cezanne’s most famous paintings are of the countryside of Provence. His landscapes of fields, forests and mountains are first in our minds when we think of him, however, during his lifetime he produced just under 200 portraits of the peasant farmers, village women and his family, plus a few self-portraits.
Now fifty of these portraits have been gathered from as far afield as Brazil, Denmark, Russia and Sweden for a new exhibition, Cezanne Portraits, at London’s National Portrait Gallery. Just like his approach to other subject matter those featured, who were often required to sit for long hours, are approached in the same way, taking them down to their simplest forms, shapes and colours. However, there is still a lot of humanity within these portraits, walking around the exhibition you get a strong sense of the life and times of the sitters, from the comfortable lifestyle of his father and uncle to the hard toil of the peasants. The portraits of his wife Hortense are probably the most melancholy in the collection, she was often left alone by Cezanne and he only agreed to marry her towards the end of his life even though she had given him the son who is also featured here.
This exhibition is organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London, the musees d’Orsay et de l’Orangerie, Paris and the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC where it will be moving in February 2018. It is at the National Portrait Gallery now until 11 February 2018. Tickets with donation: Full price £20, Concessions £18.50. Tickets without donation: Full price £18, Concessions £16.50. Free for members and patrons.