Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) has inspired the generation of modern artist and generally categorized as a post-impressionist painter. His unique method of building a form with color and his analytical approach to nature influenced the art of cubists, Fauvists, and successive generations of avant-garde artists.
In the artwork Still Life with Apples, fruits are everywhere, and they are colorful. There is a white cylinder item on the table. It may be a candle, but it does not light up. There is a glass sitting on the white cloth. It looks like it is about to fall. According to MoMA, the edges of the fruits are undefined and appear to shift, and the right corner of the table is not aligned with the left side. The rules of Perspective are broken. Also, some areas of the canvas are left bare like this painting is unfinished.
Cézanne was very interested in optics and tried to reduce naturally occurring forms to their geometric essentials, such as the cone, the cube, and the sphere. He used layers of color on these shapes to build up surfaces, outlining the forms for emphasis. Therefore, the perspective of the painting is also unique to his style; each piece of fruit, plate, and glass retains an individual presence, giving them an independence from one another.
The artwork Still Life with Apples will be considered as impressionism of modernism. Cézanne did not put many details to this artwork. After the first sight of this painting, the only thing in our mind may be the fruits. It is more colorful than other figures. It is a still life image, but we can imagine that the fruits are falling down. In this artwork, Cézanne shows us each figure are unique and individual. The table tilts forward, which I think Cézanne did that purposely to make audiences see every single fruit. According to MoMA, Still Life with Apple is not just an object, but also the appearance of light and space. It is also more than an imitation of life.
When I was walking in MoMA museum searching for artwork, I did not really see this painting into my head at first. I started to search other painting, but the color of the fruits and the way they stand of the artwork caught my attention. Then, I go back to this painting and look again. I found out that, it is not only how the fruit’s position is weird, the table is not parallel too. So, I decided to pick this piece of artwork.
Some area of the canvas was not colored. I think Cézanne did that purposely, but what is the thinking behind that?
Works Cited
Cézanne, Paul. Still Life with Apples. 1898. Museum of Modern Art, 11 WEST 53 STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10019. MoMA. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
Fengzhen,
You’ve chosen one of Cezanne’s best known works and raise really interesting questions about the painting. I can’t tell how much of the commentary you’ve shared here reflects your own thinking and how much is material you encountered in researching the work. That is a distinction that needs to be much clearer. You indicate that this painting is meant to be “more than an imitation of life.” I love that because it reminds us that the Modernists are rejecting Realism – which is all about art trying to imitate life! However, if the painting is more than an imitation of life, what exactly is it? You describe this as an example of impressionism. Could you explain what Impressionism is and how we see that in this work? I think that would be really helpful. Noticing the strange or incongruous elements of the painting is really important; I’m glad you pointed out the mis-alignment of the table with respect to the painting and the fact that areas of the canvas appear to be unfinished. Nice job.
I loved the fact that it isn’t completely painted! It shows the rebellion against art taught at academies that stressed that the art appeared real. It so obviously reminds us that it is a painting, and even brings us into the painting process. Actually there is an exhibition at the Met Breuer right now called “Unfinished” that shows art that was not finished for various reasons, either because it was given up on, the artist couldn’t, or like you have suggested here, the artist chose to leave it unfinished.