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Cezanne: A Life
A major biography--the first comprehensive new assessment to be published in decades--of the brilliant work and restless life of Paul Cezanne, the most influential painter of his time and beyond, whose vision revolutionized the role of the painter and changed the way artists would see and depict the world forever after.
Alex Danchev, with brisk intellect, rich documentation, and eighty color illustrations, tells the story of an artist who, during his lifetime, was considered a madman, a barbarian, and a revolutionary. Beginning with the restless teenager from Aix, Danchev carries us through the trials of a painter who believed that art must be an expression of temperament but who was tormented by self-doubt; whose work sold to no one outside his immediate circle until late into his thirties; who fiercely maintained the revolutionary belief that "to paint from nature is not to copy an object; it is to represent its sensations." And Danchev shows us how the implications of this belief became the obsession of many other artists and writers, from Matisse to Samuel Beckett. The book delivers not only the fascinating life of this visionary artist and remarkable man but a complete assessment of his ongoing influence in the artistic imagination of our own time.
Alex Danchev, with brisk intellect, rich documentation, and eighty color illustrations, tells the story of an artist who, during his lifetime, was considered a madman, a barbarian, and a revolutionary. Beginning with the restless teenager from Aix, Danchev carries us through the trials of a painter who believed that art must be an expression of temperament but who was tormented by self-doubt; whose work sold to no one outside his immediate circle until late into his thirties; who fiercely maintained the revolutionary belief that "to paint from nature is not to copy an object; it is to represent its sensations." And Danchev shows us how the implications of this belief became the obsession of many other artists and writers, from Matisse to Samuel Beckett. The book delivers not only the fascinating life of this visionary artist and remarkable man but a complete assessment of his ongoing influence in the artistic imagination of our own time.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published October 18, 2012
93 people are currently reading
740 people want to read
About the author
Alex Danchev
40 books19 followersAlex Danchev was Professor of International Relations at the University of Nottingham, and a long-standing friend of the Tate in London, where he has been a member of the Acquisition Committee of the Patrons of New Art.
His interests wandered across the borders of art, politics, and military history although his focus is chiefly biographical.
His biography of the philosopher-statesman Oliver Franks (Oxford University Press, 1993) was on the Observer's 'Books of the Year' and his biography of the military writer Basil Liddell Hart (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998) was listed for the Whitbread Prize for Biography and the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction.
His unexpurgated edition of the Alanbrooke Diaries (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001) was listed for the W.H. Smith Prize for Biography. In 2009 he published On Art and War and Terror, a collection of essays on the most difficult issues of our age and, in particular, the nature of humanity in times of conflict.
His interests wandered across the borders of art, politics, and military history although his focus is chiefly biographical.
His biography of the philosopher-statesman Oliver Franks (Oxford University Press, 1993) was on the Observer's 'Books of the Year' and his biography of the military writer Basil Liddell Hart (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998) was listed for the Whitbread Prize for Biography and the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction.
His unexpurgated edition of the Alanbrooke Diaries (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2001) was listed for the W.H. Smith Prize for Biography. In 2009 he published On Art and War and Terror, a collection of essays on the most difficult issues of our age and, in particular, the nature of humanity in times of conflict.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
January 2, 2015
1. Paul Cézanne was the best friend of Emile Zola.
2. Paul Cézanne ate like a viking.
3. Antisemitism created a schism between the artists: Degas and Renior vs. Cézanne and Pissarro.
4. Gertrude Stein hung a Cézanne painting in her apartment where Picasso painted her. The portrait of Stein was the beginning of Picasso's experimentations which begot Cubism. Without a doubt, Picasso drew from this Cézanne for inspiration in abstract rendering.
5. Zola was embarrassed by Cézanne's lack of celebrity during their adult lives. He wrote a novel about a thinly veiled Cézanne character which he outright called a failure. It was this story that ended the lifelong friendship between Zola and Cézanne.
6. Cézanne broke down nature into its three building blocks; cylinders, spheres and cones.
7. Vincent van Gogh was an admirer of Cézanne's work.
8. Alberto Giacometti created his standard dimensions of his human head sculptures from Cézanne paintings.
Truly fantastic.
2. Paul Cézanne ate like a viking.
3. Antisemitism created a schism between the artists: Degas and Renior vs. Cézanne and Pissarro.
4. Gertrude Stein hung a Cézanne painting in her apartment where Picasso painted her. The portrait of Stein was the beginning of Picasso's experimentations which begot Cubism. Without a doubt, Picasso drew from this Cézanne for inspiration in abstract rendering.
5. Zola was embarrassed by Cézanne's lack of celebrity during their adult lives. He wrote a novel about a thinly veiled Cézanne character which he outright called a failure. It was this story that ended the lifelong friendship between Zola and Cézanne.
6. Cézanne broke down nature into its three building blocks; cylinders, spheres and cones.
7. Vincent van Gogh was an admirer of Cézanne's work.
8. Alberto Giacometti created his standard dimensions of his human head sculptures from Cézanne paintings.
Truly fantastic.
January 24, 2013
This is what biography is all about. This is an amazing book about an amazing artist. The author is extremely knowledgeable and well read. He knows his stuff.
November 21, 2018
Satisfyingly dense and comprehensive study; fantastic on the personal and literary origins and paths to the painting; great on the friendships; good balance of hagiography (tough to avoid) and its reverse.
April 5, 2014
As I was wandering in my local bookshop I found myself in front of the biographies shelve, next thing I saw the cover of "Cézanne: A life" and it was that very look of the master in his portrait which prompted me to buy the book. It was an instinctive reaction, there was something in his look that made me feel his life story was going to be worth my while.
And what a story!
Danchev's effort is outstanding from any perspective. He presents Cézanne's biography through the prism of many relevant people along the painter's life. In an exercise of supreme scholarship, Danchev manages to put together an amalgam of accounts, chiefly from Cézanne acquaintances, under a very well defined storyline. To achieve this, there's a well accomplished use of the English and French languages (there are plenty of French quotations). And all of that without being pompous. With a surgeon-like accuracy, Danchev exquisite and clever use of both languages greatly helps to enhance the reading experience. And when it comes to analysing Cézanne's works (or even to go a little bit further on the last chapter and psychoanalyse the man himself) it's this very mastery that leaves no room for ambiguity. Maybe this heavy prose style makes the book slow to read at times, but the pleasure of digging into well thought-out analysis outweighs any slowness.
It's also the way the book is structured that makes it all the more engaging. It follows a linear storyline as nearly every biography out there; but it's unusual introduction sets the standard for the rest of the book. We are introduced to Cézanne through his long time friendship with Émile Zola. Zola wrote a novel entitled L'œuvre, which apparently borrowed a lot on Cézanne. Danchev analyses L'œuvre to outline what person Cézanne really was. So this will be Cézanne looked under Zola's prism, as I mentioned earlier. It's this literary approach, rather than a more conventional one, that sets this book apart from any other biography I've read before.
There are more prisms in the book, so when you're finished with it you will have a clear picture of who Cézanne was, what he did and why he is a pivotal part of modern art. In my opinion that was the great achievement of Danchev with this work, being able to tell a biography putting many pieces together, yet having is very solid and consistent work.
This book should be read as a Cézanne's work should be watched (or any artist work for the matter). That is slowly, delighting in every paragraph, and coming back to it if you need to. That's how you will make the most of this fascinating biography.
If I had to mention any shortcomings, that would be the total absence of footnotes (they would have come in handy for the French quotations) and also on the pictures used. I still give it a 5 out of 5 because the reading experience was unique, superb, compelling, long etc.
PS:I have no interest in art whatsoever, I don't speak French and English is not my mother tongue. All the same I think this book is amazing. Never mind other reviews where it is said this is a heavy and slow read, I admit it's not 100% fluid, but still highly readable.
And what a story!
Danchev's effort is outstanding from any perspective. He presents Cézanne's biography through the prism of many relevant people along the painter's life. In an exercise of supreme scholarship, Danchev manages to put together an amalgam of accounts, chiefly from Cézanne acquaintances, under a very well defined storyline. To achieve this, there's a well accomplished use of the English and French languages (there are plenty of French quotations). And all of that without being pompous. With a surgeon-like accuracy, Danchev exquisite and clever use of both languages greatly helps to enhance the reading experience. And when it comes to analysing Cézanne's works (or even to go a little bit further on the last chapter and psychoanalyse the man himself) it's this very mastery that leaves no room for ambiguity. Maybe this heavy prose style makes the book slow to read at times, but the pleasure of digging into well thought-out analysis outweighs any slowness.
It's also the way the book is structured that makes it all the more engaging. It follows a linear storyline as nearly every biography out there; but it's unusual introduction sets the standard for the rest of the book. We are introduced to Cézanne through his long time friendship with Émile Zola. Zola wrote a novel entitled L'œuvre, which apparently borrowed a lot on Cézanne. Danchev analyses L'œuvre to outline what person Cézanne really was. So this will be Cézanne looked under Zola's prism, as I mentioned earlier. It's this literary approach, rather than a more conventional one, that sets this book apart from any other biography I've read before.
There are more prisms in the book, so when you're finished with it you will have a clear picture of who Cézanne was, what he did and why he is a pivotal part of modern art. In my opinion that was the great achievement of Danchev with this work, being able to tell a biography putting many pieces together, yet having is very solid and consistent work.
This book should be read as a Cézanne's work should be watched (or any artist work for the matter). That is slowly, delighting in every paragraph, and coming back to it if you need to. That's how you will make the most of this fascinating biography.
If I had to mention any shortcomings, that would be the total absence of footnotes (they would have come in handy for the French quotations) and also on the pictures used. I still give it a 5 out of 5 because the reading experience was unique, superb, compelling, long etc.
PS:I have no interest in art whatsoever, I don't speak French and English is not my mother tongue. All the same I think this book is amazing. Never mind other reviews where it is said this is a heavy and slow read, I admit it's not 100% fluid, but still highly readable.
March 21, 2017
This is a disappointing biography of my favorite French Impressionist. It has its good points, however. It was at its best when author Alex Danchev analyzed Cezanne's paintings or described his technique. But far too much of the book was about interpreting Cezanne's character through the fictional characters created by his friend, Emile Zola, and that were inspired by him. Analyzing a real-life person through fictional characters is a flawed approach on which Danchev relies far too heavily.
This book has a pretentiousness that can get grating at times. Far too many allusions to literature. Too much untranslated French. Comments like this, which I have no idea how to interpret: "The allusion to Flaubert's characters Homais and Bournisien begins to sound a little like Gasquet over-egging the pudding." At one point, in analyzing Cezanne's relationship with his father, Danchev presents a letter that Franz Kafka wrote to his father, saying that perhaps it's the kind of letter that Cezanne might have written. I prefer a biography that presents its subject in the real world, in an actual time and place, but Danchev too often places Cezanne in the world of the mind, through literature and poetry. Some may see this as a fresh and valid approach, and perhaps it is, but it's not what I look for in a biography.
And this book is weird in other ways, too. There are two sections of color plates, in which we see Cezanne's art as well as works of others, who either inspired Cezanne or were inspired by him. But the black-and-white photos and drawings, scattered throughout the text, are presented without captions. (You have to go to a section of the preface to look up the caption by page number, which is annoying.) And one photo, of actors Paul Muni and Vladimir Sokoloff (who played Zola and Cezanne, respectively, in the 1937 movie The Life of Emile Zola, appears suddenly in the text without explanation. The movie is never mentioned in the book. It would be like reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln and seeing, without any context or reason, a photo of Daniel Day-Lewis or Raymond Massey!
I was really hoping to love this book, as I loved Julia Frey's biography, Toulouse-Lautrec: A Life or Ross King's The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism, but no, I was left deeply unsatisfied. I'll have to look for another biography of Cezanne.
This book has a pretentiousness that can get grating at times. Far too many allusions to literature. Too much untranslated French. Comments like this, which I have no idea how to interpret: "The allusion to Flaubert's characters Homais and Bournisien begins to sound a little like Gasquet over-egging the pudding." At one point, in analyzing Cezanne's relationship with his father, Danchev presents a letter that Franz Kafka wrote to his father, saying that perhaps it's the kind of letter that Cezanne might have written. I prefer a biography that presents its subject in the real world, in an actual time and place, but Danchev too often places Cezanne in the world of the mind, through literature and poetry. Some may see this as a fresh and valid approach, and perhaps it is, but it's not what I look for in a biography.
And this book is weird in other ways, too. There are two sections of color plates, in which we see Cezanne's art as well as works of others, who either inspired Cezanne or were inspired by him. But the black-and-white photos and drawings, scattered throughout the text, are presented without captions. (You have to go to a section of the preface to look up the caption by page number, which is annoying.) And one photo, of actors Paul Muni and Vladimir Sokoloff (who played Zola and Cezanne, respectively, in the 1937 movie The Life of Emile Zola, appears suddenly in the text without explanation. The movie is never mentioned in the book. It would be like reading a biography of Abraham Lincoln and seeing, without any context or reason, a photo of Daniel Day-Lewis or Raymond Massey!
I was really hoping to love this book, as I loved Julia Frey's biography, Toulouse-Lautrec: A Life or Ross King's The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism, but no, I was left deeply unsatisfied. I'll have to look for another biography of Cezanne.
May 18, 2013
Being a painter as well as someone who appreciates research and accuracy in works of non-fiction, Danchev's work amazed me. I borrowed from the library but having finished reading while overseas, will purchase a copy for my library at home.
I particularly appreciated how carefully previous mythologies about Cezanne were investigated and corrected. As well, the depth of conversation about how the man saw and painted. One can learn many things from studying the contents here.
Cezanne, A Life is not light reading. Because there is so much information, so many perspectives, slow reading with contemplation time is called for. I can see why some people would find it off-putting, but in my view, the scholarship and also the way it is written and illustrated is alive with revelations which I thoroughly enjoyed!
I particularly appreciated how carefully previous mythologies about Cezanne were investigated and corrected. As well, the depth of conversation about how the man saw and painted. One can learn many things from studying the contents here.
Cezanne, A Life is not light reading. Because there is so much information, so many perspectives, slow reading with contemplation time is called for. I can see why some people would find it off-putting, but in my view, the scholarship and also the way it is written and illustrated is alive with revelations which I thoroughly enjoyed!
August 8, 2015
There is a lot of information about possibly the most important painter in modern times in this book. Although I wouldn't say it was badly written, for some reason I could never really get into it and could only read in small bits. I was bored. But Cezanne is not boring.
This book did something important for me. I've taken art history courses in high school and college. I read a lot about art and artists. Now I realize that although I have my "favorite" artists, I don't have any idea of how to really view art. So the problem is, is knowing how to view art similar to having rhythm? in that either you have it or you don't? Or is it something you can learn? I love Cezanne's paintings but only because I find them pleasing. I can understand what people say about the importance of Cezanne, but I'd like to be able to see that for myself.
This book did something important for me. I've taken art history courses in high school and college. I read a lot about art and artists. Now I realize that although I have my "favorite" artists, I don't have any idea of how to really view art. So the problem is, is knowing how to view art similar to having rhythm? in that either you have it or you don't? Or is it something you can learn? I love Cezanne's paintings but only because I find them pleasing. I can understand what people say about the importance of Cezanne, but I'd like to be able to see that for myself.
May 19, 2024
When I first started out with this book, I felt that the style it was written in was very convoluted as it wasn't just a book about Cezanne, but one about so many other people that were not that obviously related to Cezanne. Danchev pulled quotes from so many historical figures that you wonder if it is all that necessary or even appropriate. But by the end of the book, I have really come to appreciate Danchev's style of writing and his way of thinking. He is probably one of the most intelligent and philosophical biographers I've ever read, with a breadth of knowledge and understanding that is intensely thorough, yet wholly original. He is able to sift through so many works to find the smallest connections by reading between the lines that you cannot help but be in awe of his thought process. His analysis of Cezanne is truly one of a kind.
March 31, 2013
An excellent biography that manages to balance the life and the work—this can be seen by looking at the color reproductions. While the majority are, of course, works by Cezanne, Danchev also includes works that inspired him, were inspired by him, or were of him by other painters. An interesting man and an example of one consumed by art.
The list of people strongly influenced by the painter is astounding in both its breadth and diversity—painters naturally but also writers, poets, philosophers, etc. Some of these are surprising (Allan Ginsburg?). Here are just some of the writers and philosophers who felt themselves influenced by his work (I found that phenomenon very interesting): Rilke, Heidegger, Merleau Ponty, Gertrude Stein, Hemingway, Samuel Beckett, Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida, Seamus Heaney.
The list of people strongly influenced by the painter is astounding in both its breadth and diversity—painters naturally but also writers, poets, philosophers, etc. Some of these are surprising (Allan Ginsburg?). Here are just some of the writers and philosophers who felt themselves influenced by his work (I found that phenomenon very interesting): Rilke, Heidegger, Merleau Ponty, Gertrude Stein, Hemingway, Samuel Beckett, Walter Benjamin, Jacques Derrida, Seamus Heaney.
May 12, 2013
I found this book personally inspiring in it's content, but did not like that the color plates are out of order and require one to keep flipping all around to find the work being referenced. None of the photographs in the book are labeled which is frustrating for someone who wants to directly know who is being photographed. Also there are many many names dropped in a manner which assumes the reader is familiar already with the subject and his associates. By the end of the book I just stopped caring who people were since I was tired of looking up all the names mentioned using my mobile device.
May 13, 2020
Beautifully and intelligently written. This was a dense, thorough exploration of Cézanne’s life and work. Well balanced between artistic/technical exploration and his personal life, which, of course, had a great impact on his art. For anyone who is a marginal Cézanne fan, or perhaps not a fan at all, this is still a worthwhile read. Danchev gives deep insight into the psychology and philosophy of the artist and achieves, at the very least, a well-deserved appreciation for Cézanne’s dedication to a vision which forced him into isolation and earned him so much rejection throughout his career.
February 2, 2013
found myself not wanting to go back to reading it each time. only got about 100 pages in and decided to quit because i just did not like it. there was way too much discussion of the work and philosophy of authors whom i have never read and dont really care to read.
if you are primarily interested in reading something that is more focused on just the artist, i dont think that this is the book for you.
if you are primarily interested in reading something that is more focused on just the artist, i dont think that this is the book for you.
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April 11, 2013Very detailed history of the artist Paul Cezanne, his friends, paintings, hardships & complete sacrifice of his life painted into the canvases of nature though lost in pursuit of, sur le motif" for his temperament devoted all energies in his being to give the world art form never duplicated. His time on earth passed into history although he lives on "d'outre-tombe", in his paintings for all to feel the strokes of genius.
July 8, 2018
"'When I start a painting,' said Pissarro, 'the first thing I strive to catch is its harmonic form. Between this sky and this ground and this water there is necessarily a link. It can only be a set of harmonies, and that is the ultimate test of painting. ... The big problem to solve is to bring everything, even the smallest details of the painting, to an integral whole, that is to say harmony.' That 'art is a harmony parallel to nature' became one of Cezanne's fundamental truths. The art of painting entailed finding equivalents in material color for visual (or experiential) sensations: art paralleled nature; it did not slavishly copy it."
"Cezanne had a tendency towards the concentric. 'In order to make progress, there is only nature, and the eye educates itself by contact with nature. It becomes concentric by looking and working. What I mean is that, in an orange, an apple, a ball, a head, there is a culminating point; and the point is always--despite the tremendous effect: light and shadow, sensations colorantes--the closest to our eye.'"
"Look for the kind of nature that suits your temperament. The motif should be observed more for shape and colour than for drawing. There is no need to tighten the form which can be obtained without that. Precise drawing is dry and hampers the impression of the whole, it destroys all sensations. Do not define too closely the outlines of things; it is the brushstroke of the right value and colour which should produce the drawing. In a mass, the greatest difficulty is not to give the contour in detail, but to paint what is within. Paint the essential character of things, try to convey it by any means whatsoever, without bothering about technique. When painting, make a choice of subject, see what is lying at the right and at the left, then work on everything simultaneously. Don't work bit by bit, but paint everything at once by placing tones everywhere, with brushstrokes of the right colour and value, while noticing what is alongside. Use small brushstrokes and try to put down your perceptions immediately. The eye should not be fixed on one point, but should take in everything, while observing the reflections which the colours produce on their surroundings. Work at the same time upon sky, water, branches, ground, keeping everything going on on an equal basis and unceasingly rework until you have got it. Cover the canvas at the first go, then work at it until you can see nothing more to add. Observe the aerial perspective well, from the foreground to the horizon, the reflections of sky, of foliage. Don't be afraid of putting on colour, refine the work little by little. Don't proceed according to rules and principles, but paint what you observe and feel. Paint generously and unhesitatingly, for it is best not to lose the first impression. Don't be timid in front of nature; one must be bold, at the risk of being deceived and making mistakes. One must have only one master - nature; she is the one always to be consulted." --Pissarro
Cezanne revolutionized the representation of the exterior world. Until then, one valid conception reigned, since the Renaissance, since Giotto, to be precise. Since that time, there had been no fundamental alteration in the way of seeing a head, for example. The change between Giotto and the Byzantines was greater than that between Giotto and the Renaissance. After all, Ingres’s way of seeing was almost a continuation.
Cezanne blew sky high that way of seeing by painting a head as an object. He said as much: ‘I paint a head like a door, like anything else.’ As he painted the left ear, he established a greater rapport between the ear and the background that between the left ear and the right ear, a greater rapport between the color of the hair and the color of the sweater than between the ear and the structure of the skull—and because what he himself wanted was still to achieve a whole head, he completely shattered the idea that we had before of the whole, the unity of the head. He completely shattered the bloc, so completely that first of all we pretended that the head had become a pretext, and that, in consequence, painting had become abstract. Today, every representation that seeks to return to the previous way of seeing, that is to say the Renaissance way of seeing, is no longer believable. A head whose integrity would have to be respected would no longer be a head. It would be a museum piece. --Giacometti
"Cezanne had a tendency towards the concentric. 'In order to make progress, there is only nature, and the eye educates itself by contact with nature. It becomes concentric by looking and working. What I mean is that, in an orange, an apple, a ball, a head, there is a culminating point; and the point is always--despite the tremendous effect: light and shadow, sensations colorantes--the closest to our eye.'"
"Look for the kind of nature that suits your temperament. The motif should be observed more for shape and colour than for drawing. There is no need to tighten the form which can be obtained without that. Precise drawing is dry and hampers the impression of the whole, it destroys all sensations. Do not define too closely the outlines of things; it is the brushstroke of the right value and colour which should produce the drawing. In a mass, the greatest difficulty is not to give the contour in detail, but to paint what is within. Paint the essential character of things, try to convey it by any means whatsoever, without bothering about technique. When painting, make a choice of subject, see what is lying at the right and at the left, then work on everything simultaneously. Don't work bit by bit, but paint everything at once by placing tones everywhere, with brushstrokes of the right colour and value, while noticing what is alongside. Use small brushstrokes and try to put down your perceptions immediately. The eye should not be fixed on one point, but should take in everything, while observing the reflections which the colours produce on their surroundings. Work at the same time upon sky, water, branches, ground, keeping everything going on on an equal basis and unceasingly rework until you have got it. Cover the canvas at the first go, then work at it until you can see nothing more to add. Observe the aerial perspective well, from the foreground to the horizon, the reflections of sky, of foliage. Don't be afraid of putting on colour, refine the work little by little. Don't proceed according to rules and principles, but paint what you observe and feel. Paint generously and unhesitatingly, for it is best not to lose the first impression. Don't be timid in front of nature; one must be bold, at the risk of being deceived and making mistakes. One must have only one master - nature; she is the one always to be consulted." --Pissarro
Cezanne revolutionized the representation of the exterior world. Until then, one valid conception reigned, since the Renaissance, since Giotto, to be precise. Since that time, there had been no fundamental alteration in the way of seeing a head, for example. The change between Giotto and the Byzantines was greater than that between Giotto and the Renaissance. After all, Ingres’s way of seeing was almost a continuation.
Cezanne blew sky high that way of seeing by painting a head as an object. He said as much: ‘I paint a head like a door, like anything else.’ As he painted the left ear, he established a greater rapport between the ear and the background that between the left ear and the right ear, a greater rapport between the color of the hair and the color of the sweater than between the ear and the structure of the skull—and because what he himself wanted was still to achieve a whole head, he completely shattered the idea that we had before of the whole, the unity of the head. He completely shattered the bloc, so completely that first of all we pretended that the head had become a pretext, and that, in consequence, painting had become abstract. Today, every representation that seeks to return to the previous way of seeing, that is to say the Renaissance way of seeing, is no longer believable. A head whose integrity would have to be respected would no longer be a head. It would be a museum piece. --Giacometti
June 23, 2023
A meticulous and lovingly-crafted analysis of Cézanne’s life and artistic development. The artist makes a good subject for a biography, because a remarkable body of correspondence and other writing relating to his emergence as a great painter seems to have survived, in letters, quotes, mentions in other people’s writing, and so on, especially in the early days.
Alex Danchev makes the most of them too, interweaving all this wealth of detail with extracts and quotes of his own, taken from all over the place - Ovid, Stendhal, Delacroix, you name it – to assemble his portrait of the artist. In this way it is by no means a simple narrative of Cézanne’s life – born in Aix, moved to Paris, and so on – but very much an attempt to delve deep into Cézanne’s pysche at the critical points in his development. The use of other people’s writing, whether Ovid or Cicero writing about more distant times, or Zola’s novels using Cézanne himself as a model (apparently), helps build up quite an intimate sense of the man himself.
I sometimes found myself wondering whether it was less of a deep dive into Cézanne’s soul than a skilful composite of artistic life and aspiration in general during that period. The cast of characters employed is extraordinary – Flaubert, Manet, Monnet, Renoir, Stendhal, Baudelaire, Rilke, Pissaro, and of course, Zola – reflecting the sumptuous richness of that period. Imagine all these people knowing each other, wandering into each other’s homes for a quick glass of wine! AD doesn’t quite claim that to be sure, but that is the overall effect. His technique, of using extensive quotes and extracts from other people’s letters and/or novels to illustrate his psychoanalysis of Cézanne tends to blur the lines between fact and fiction/guesswork, and whether we are talking about Cézanne or somebody else, or just a character in a novel. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to Zola’s L’Œuvre and the insights it offers into the soul of the painter. But which painter? Which artist? If one is looking for profound insights into Cézanne the individal I think this technique has its limitations; but if one accepts that (in the example quoted) it might well say as much about Zola and his own creative processes as it does of his attitude towards Cézanne, accurate or otherwise, then it’s probably fair game. But, the definitive analysis of the artist? Not so sure.
It's also a work of art appreciation, crawling carefully over each square inch of many of the artist’s works, describing them, analysing the kind of strokes used, exploring what Cézanne had in mind. You could almost take this book with you to a Cézanne exhibition and learn to understand his works better as a result. For much of the narrative I was tempted to award three stars for his scattergun approach, but it’s these closing few chapters, oozing love for the artist, that finally made me upgrade to four. Good stuff. The closing chapters delve deeper and deeper into the depths of Cézanne’s artistic soul In that context, I warmed to AD’s pithy summary of what the man was about for him, sitting calmly and quietly in the sun, like a lizard, waiting for the next ‘right moment’ to convey his original feeling about the landscape, the next stroke of his brush to record it:
Alex Danchev makes the most of them too, interweaving all this wealth of detail with extracts and quotes of his own, taken from all over the place - Ovid, Stendhal, Delacroix, you name it – to assemble his portrait of the artist. In this way it is by no means a simple narrative of Cézanne’s life – born in Aix, moved to Paris, and so on – but very much an attempt to delve deep into Cézanne’s pysche at the critical points in his development. The use of other people’s writing, whether Ovid or Cicero writing about more distant times, or Zola’s novels using Cézanne himself as a model (apparently), helps build up quite an intimate sense of the man himself.
I sometimes found myself wondering whether it was less of a deep dive into Cézanne’s soul than a skilful composite of artistic life and aspiration in general during that period. The cast of characters employed is extraordinary – Flaubert, Manet, Monnet, Renoir, Stendhal, Baudelaire, Rilke, Pissaro, and of course, Zola – reflecting the sumptuous richness of that period. Imagine all these people knowing each other, wandering into each other’s homes for a quick glass of wine! AD doesn’t quite claim that to be sure, but that is the overall effect. His technique, of using extensive quotes and extracts from other people’s letters and/or novels to illustrate his psychoanalysis of Cézanne tends to blur the lines between fact and fiction/guesswork, and whether we are talking about Cézanne or somebody else, or just a character in a novel. For example, an entire chapter is devoted to Zola’s L’Œuvre and the insights it offers into the soul of the painter. But which painter? Which artist? If one is looking for profound insights into Cézanne the individal I think this technique has its limitations; but if one accepts that (in the example quoted) it might well say as much about Zola and his own creative processes as it does of his attitude towards Cézanne, accurate or otherwise, then it’s probably fair game. But, the definitive analysis of the artist? Not so sure.
It's also a work of art appreciation, crawling carefully over each square inch of many of the artist’s works, describing them, analysing the kind of strokes used, exploring what Cézanne had in mind. You could almost take this book with you to a Cézanne exhibition and learn to understand his works better as a result. For much of the narrative I was tempted to award three stars for his scattergun approach, but it’s these closing few chapters, oozing love for the artist, that finally made me upgrade to four. Good stuff. The closing chapters delve deeper and deeper into the depths of Cézanne’s artistic soul In that context, I warmed to AD’s pithy summary of what the man was about for him, sitting calmly and quietly in the sun, like a lizard, waiting for the next ‘right moment’ to convey his original feeling about the landscape, the next stroke of his brush to record it:
At heart, perhaps, he was more a sensationist than an impressionist. True impressionists could not wait.
September 23, 2025
A thorough and witty biography, leaning quite heavily into literary sources and allusions. Cezanne’s relationship with Zola is examined in great depth. Other writers are also mined, both those that Cezanne was inspired by, and those that wrote about him at the time (with varying degrees of veiledness) and afterwards (generally with mystical levels of awe).
Where the book falls short - as is often the case with artist biographies - is in deeper analysis of particular paintings. In this Danchev seems a better cultural historian than critic. Perhaps he seems slightly reticent to read too much into any one work; his suspicion of this comes through while mentioning certain past interpretations that go in hard on Freudian analysis and psychological speculation, which often do admittedly seem spurious. However, I think there is still much more to be said by looking at the paintings themselves. If you want more of that then TJ Clark is your man.
For me there is still a large mystery and conflict at the heart of Cezanne’s practice which is not really touched in this book, which is the way in which Cezanne wavered between devotion to reality, sur le motif, and making compositions of figures using imagination, photographs and old sketches from other artists (predominantly ‘the bathers’). I imagine that moving between these two modes caused Cezanne a lot of doubt and inquieté throughout his life. Perhaps they represent two sides to his character: on one hand, the humble, meditative peasant man of nature, and on the other hand, someone who was ambitious to spar with and ultimately take his place beside the greats of art history, the tradition of grand figure painting ala Titian and Rubens (two of his favourites). Generally rather more tends to be said about the first version of Cezanne than the latter. In the first sense, Cezanne was a resounding success, but in his second guise he arguably found less resolution and even more struggle. As an artist of experienced reality, he is really unsurpassed, whereas, for me, his large figure compositions present the (re)opening of a path which was only truly picked up, explored and mastered by Picasso.
Where the book falls short - as is often the case with artist biographies - is in deeper analysis of particular paintings. In this Danchev seems a better cultural historian than critic. Perhaps he seems slightly reticent to read too much into any one work; his suspicion of this comes through while mentioning certain past interpretations that go in hard on Freudian analysis and psychological speculation, which often do admittedly seem spurious. However, I think there is still much more to be said by looking at the paintings themselves. If you want more of that then TJ Clark is your man.
For me there is still a large mystery and conflict at the heart of Cezanne’s practice which is not really touched in this book, which is the way in which Cezanne wavered between devotion to reality, sur le motif, and making compositions of figures using imagination, photographs and old sketches from other artists (predominantly ‘the bathers’). I imagine that moving between these two modes caused Cezanne a lot of doubt and inquieté throughout his life. Perhaps they represent two sides to his character: on one hand, the humble, meditative peasant man of nature, and on the other hand, someone who was ambitious to spar with and ultimately take his place beside the greats of art history, the tradition of grand figure painting ala Titian and Rubens (two of his favourites). Generally rather more tends to be said about the first version of Cezanne than the latter. In the first sense, Cezanne was a resounding success, but in his second guise he arguably found less resolution and even more struggle. As an artist of experienced reality, he is really unsurpassed, whereas, for me, his large figure compositions present the (re)opening of a path which was only truly picked up, explored and mastered by Picasso.
November 12, 2022
“The wondrous mountain with which Cézanne struggled ought to show its wandering
light to you too. We give our attention to the mountains that are there, not in respect of their geological structure or geographical location, but only in respect of their being present. What is present has risen from unconcealment." Cézanne was the agent of unconcealment.
"These days in Cézanne's home country are worth more than a whole library of philosophy books. If only one could think as directly as Cézanne painted.”
light to you too. We give our attention to the mountains that are there, not in respect of their geological structure or geographical location, but only in respect of their being present. What is present has risen from unconcealment." Cézanne was the agent of unconcealment.
"These days in Cézanne's home country are worth more than a whole library of philosophy books. If only one could think as directly as Cézanne painted.”
March 15, 2025
Hands-down the best biography of an artist I have read in years! A must-read for artists and not only📚
Here Cézanne comes across not as a dead classic, but as a highly temperamental, self-doubting man who was highly selective with his relationships, was bitterly betrayed by Zóla (a foundational presence in his youth), who enjoyed eating chicken with olives, loved simple Pravançal life and threw canvases on top of olive trees in his garden when he was not satisfied with them. His mission was to go to the end of what he could do - a remarkable role model for all of us.♥️
Here Cézanne comes across not as a dead classic, but as a highly temperamental, self-doubting man who was highly selective with his relationships, was bitterly betrayed by Zóla (a foundational presence in his youth), who enjoyed eating chicken with olives, loved simple Pravançal life and threw canvases on top of olive trees in his garden when he was not satisfied with them. His mission was to go to the end of what he could do - a remarkable role model for all of us.♥️
Read
July 14, 2019It's often loose and can feel like a collection of anecdotes, but then there's something appropriate about letting incidents hang free as disconnected brushstrokes rather than plaster it all with narrative contour.
August 23, 2019
A masterful biography of Cezanne, skeleton for a penetrating analysis of his art and its impact ... wide-ranging in its insight into the creative force engendered by the paintings, concluding with: “We shall never have done with Cezanne. I can think of no higher praise.” ...
June 20, 2022
A great biography of a great painter. Cezanne inspires me with his work ethic, his patience. He is a revolutionary changing art day by day, apple by apple. Danchev inspires me because he writes so incisively about art. His discussion makes Cezanne's project come alive for me.
January 14, 2020
Not bad really, but also, not exactly what I was seeking or hoping for in wanting to read about Cezanne. Cautiously recommended for admirers, fans, collectors, etc.
January 8, 2021
Perfect insight into his earlier life
June 14, 2021
Incredibly inspiring. I can see why Cezanne is the father of modern art. He completed the genre of painting
January 4, 2023
A very complete and well-researched book about the life of Cezanne. I sometimes felt that it was too much information concerning his art and work, but worth reading it.
December 19, 2024
I wish our museum has more Cezanne paintings, a tall order I know. He intrigues me and I have always wanted to do a highlight tour of modern art that culminates in Cezanne. Tho at today’s YouTube/exercising, I got an idea, to do a six-degree of separation kind of tour with Pissarro, we have quite a few Pissarro, and through him, connections could be made to the usual suspects of French Impressionists (Monet, Renoir, Degas, etc. ), Seurat/Signac, and of course Cezanne. Cezanne called Pissarro “colossal et humble”.
June 28, 2013
All-in-all a solid, engaging biography that gives us a window in to the real Cezanne. Cezanne has become a deified figure in the annals of art history...his name escapes most artists' lips in tones of hushed reverence. He is the visionary of visionaries, the father of modern art, etc... But the great thing about the book is that the author shows him as merely a person -- a person who was mischievous, eccentric, funny, shrewd, erudite and extremely intelligent, and riddled always with self-doubt. This multi-faceted portrayal helps us escort Zeus down from the Mount so that we have a chance to examine him as he was in his day: a human being dealing with rejection and low confidence, going against the grain and trying to make the best, most personal and daring artwork he could, and being a loyal friend and loving father.
Another reviewer mentioned that the extensive literary quotations are too much...and that is a fair point. However I chalked that up to the fact that Cezanne was deeply influenced by his readings -- and they were abundant -- and also that the author is a writer by trade so might have a bias towards the written word. Overall it didn't impact my opinion of the book as a great artist biography.
Another reviewer mentioned that the extensive literary quotations are too much...and that is a fair point. However I chalked that up to the fact that Cezanne was deeply influenced by his readings -- and they were abundant -- and also that the author is a writer by trade so might have a bias towards the written word. Overall it didn't impact my opinion of the book as a great artist biography.
December 13, 2013
Danchev is taking a lesson out of the Hermione Lee school of biography, writing in themes as opposed to chronologically, but he isn't nearly as compelling. Luckily for him though, I think Cézanne is The Man (apparently so do a lot of other people) so getting to hear about his bromance with Zola; his psychologically fascinating paintings of his wife, the Madame; his problems with Paris and his hidden child from his father, but not his mother; his ability to mix colours for nature morte - gah, I could listen all day. There are some really wild, fanboy things said about him by Rilke especially but Seamus Heaney and Ernest Hemingway also make appearances, as do Sam Beckett and JM Coetzee (less expected).
Sadly nothing on The Bather, which stands like a temple in MoMA, which I pray to every night. Why deny me, Danchev?!
Sadly nothing on The Bather, which stands like a temple in MoMA, which I pray to every night. Why deny me, Danchev?!
January 19, 2014
I enjoyed the glimpses of Cezanne's personality this book provided, and Danchev certainly provided input from many and varied sources relative to Cezanne's life, views, and eccentricities. However, several times I found myself lost in some wild chain of references and allusions and had trouble maintaining the connection to the actual Cezanne rather than some pastiche of a Cezanne-like character of literature. Perhaps that was Danchev's point as our image of Cezanne does seem to be more the result of literature than actual facts about the man himself.
I am glad I had the e-book version of this work because physically flipping back and forth to the color plates would have been cumbersome, especially as many works were referenced multiple times at multiple junctures in the book. Also, it bothered me that the photographs had no captions.
I am glad I had the e-book version of this work because physically flipping back and forth to the color plates would have been cumbersome, especially as many works were referenced multiple times at multiple junctures in the book. Also, it bothered me that the photographs had no captions.
September 25, 2015
Loved this bio!! Cezanne is such a mystic figure, and it was pretty amazing to read pieces of his letters and surviving conversation. Also loved to read about his relationship with other leading painters of the time... Degas, Renoir, Pissaro, Delacroix, as well as contemporaries such as Matisse, Picasso, Braque, van Gogh, Gaughin, the Surrealists, and even Jasper Johns and Allen Gingberg. Maybe my favorite quote was from Gingberg, who said, "I could imagine someone not prepared... who had no experience of external ecstacy [that is, marijuana], passing in front of a Cezanne canvas, distracted and without noticing it, his eye traveling in, to, through the canvas into the space and suddenly stopping with his hair standing on end, dead in his tracks seeing a whole new universe. And I think that's what Cezanne really does, to a lot of people." I think so too :).
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