A Cézanne Sketchbook: Figures, Portraits, Landscapes and Still Lifes

by Paul Cézanne

Great artist experiments with tonal effects, light, mass, other qualities in over 100 drawings. A revealing view of developing master painter, precursor of Cubism. 102 black-and-white illustrations.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1985

About the author

Paul Cézanne (January 19, 1839 - October 22, 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter.

His work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century.

Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th century Impressionism and the early 20th century's new line of artistic enquiry, Cubism. The line attributed to both Matisse and Picasso that Cézanne "is the father of us all" cannot be easily dismissed.

Cézanne's work demonstrates a mastery of design, colour, composition and draftsmanship. His often repetitive, sensitive and exploratory brushstrokes are highly characteristic and clearly recognizable. He used planes of colour and small brushstrokes that build up to form complex fields, at once both a direct expression of the sensations of the observing eye and an abstraction from observed nature. The paintings convey Cézanne's intense study of his subjects, a searching gaze and a dogged struggle to deal with the complexity of human visual perception.

Reviews

[Hon Lady Selene · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution.”
-Paul Cézanne

[Nathan Bernacet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A particular artist from a particular movement. One of the artists of Post-Impressionism.

[AC · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sketches in this volume are very slight. Apart from a couple of interesting self-portraits, there is not that much here.