Interpreting Cezanne

by Paul Smith

Interpreting Cezanne explores the style and content of Cezanne's work and analyzes the artist's own comments about painting. Greatly influenced by the landscapes of his native Provence, the Old Masters, and, most importantly, Impressionism, Cezanne had a lasting and profound influence on 20th century art. Includes 63 illustrations, 50 in color.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference, Art History

80 pages, Paperback

First published February 29, 1996

About the author

Paul Smith is Professor of History of Art at the University of Warwick. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, a visiting scholar and a scholar at the Getty Research Institute.

Paul Smith studied for his PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art under the supervision of Robert Ratcliffe, the eminent but obscure Cézanne scholar. Before that, he took his undergraduate degree at University College London, where he was taught aesthetics by the philosopher, Richard Wollheim. Both have had a lasting influence on his research.

Paul Smith works mostly on later 19th century French painting, and the theories that help explain it. He is also interested in the literature of the period, particularly recherché novels about art.

Reviews

[Tim Nason · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars - Beautifully designed paperback coinciding with a 1996 Tate Gallery exhibit (London) of Cézanne's work. The author offers a complex thesis about Cézanne's "mature" style using brief sections with the titles, "Cézanne's Optic," "Hippolyte Taine and the Sensation," "The Logic of Organized Sensations," "The Build-Up of the Painting," "Line," and "Cézanne and Touch." The process by which Cézanne arrived at his mature style, his influences, is described in similarly brief sections, with the titles, "Provence," The Louvre and the Old Masters," "Modern Art," and "Impressionism." A final portion of the book describes Cézanne's impact on subsequent artists, in particular Matisse, Picasso and Braque.

For me, the pages describing Cézanne's formative stages and legacy were very helpful. The analysis of his mature style, however, was barely comprehensible, despite the writer's attempt to present its components methodically. Cézanne is frequently quoted, using his letters or statements to Émile Bernard, but these tend to be meaningless without fuller explanation. Alas, the text usually zips past them, but even when a whole section is devoted to their import I still can't follow along. An example occurs at the beginning of "Cézanne's Optic," where Cézanne states, "Optics, which are developed in us by study, teach us to see." Comments by contemporaries are no more revealing.

The book has great reproductions, and their placement relative to the text is exemplary. The book would probably be of more value to those who already know a considerable amount about the academic study of Cézanne and his contemporaries. Perhaps for the general reader a different writer could more clearly explicate the work of Cézanne, whose paintings took him months or years to complete. Cézanne felt and thought so deeply and richly about what he was attempting to accomplish; it deserves an interpretation that truly illuminates and clarifies.

[Servando Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seeing is believing. I almost always receive doubtful responses when I describe this book and the claims it makes. If you are a fan of the artist, or interested in the intersection of art and psychology, this book is a must do.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic introduction to Cezanne, the man, his influences and his art.

[Liz Padrnos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive approach to analyzing a very complex artist. Elaborates on Cezanne’s influences, ideas, and contributions to art.

[Chris Gager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty much any Cezanne book gets 5 stars. This one is very academic and wordy and I probably need to go back a read it more comprehensively. A gift from a friend.