Skip to main content

Madame Cézanne at the Met

Madame Cézanne
November 19, 2014–March 15, 2015

Madame Cezanne teaser




Madame Cézanne, the first exhibition of the paintings, drawings, and watercolors by Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) of his most painted model, Hortense Fiquet (1850–1922), will open at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on November 19. The exhibition will trace Cézanne’s lifelong attachment to the woman who was his model, his wife, and the mother of his son, Paul. She profoundly inflected his portrait practice for more than two decades, yet despite this long liaison, she was not well received—by either his family or his friends.


Madame Cézanne will feature 23 of the 29 known portraits of Hortense Fiquet that Cézanne painted over a period of more than 20 years, including




Madame Cézanne in the Conservatory (1891) and



Madame Cézanne in a Red Dress (1888–90),

both from the Metropolitan Museum’s collection.


Hortense Fiquet posed for Cézanne more often than anyone but himself. At once alluring and confounding, the portraits display a complex working dialogue between the artist and his subject. The paintings can seem unforgiving, with little understanding of Hortense Fiquet’s character. Critics have cited her sour expression and remote, impenetrable demeanor. These unflattering observations have promoted Hortense Fiquet’s undeserved reputation.

Cézanne met Hortense in Paris in 1869 while she was working as a bookbinder. Although the circumstances of their first encounter are unknown, an early portrait from 1872 (now lost) suggests that she was modeling for Cézanne by the age of 22.  Cézanne took great pains to conceal his mistress and their only child, Paul, from his family fearing his authoritative father’s disapproval. The complicated subterfuge led to separate residences, frequent and often desperate appeals for funds, and long periods of living apart, even after their marriage in 1886. Despite this seeming neglect, the portraits attest to the constancy of a relationship that was critical to the artist’s practice and development. The depictions of Hortense in oil, watercolor, and graphite provide the only material clues to that partnership. Their story is a compelling one, perhaps all the more so for the absence of its particulars.

Highlights of the painted portraits in Madame Cézanne will include 




Madame Cézanne in a Red Armchair (ca. 1877) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; 




Madame Cézanne (ca. 1885) from the Nationalgalerie, Museum Berggruen in Berlin;



Portrait of Madame Cézanne (ca. 1885–87) from the Philadelphia Museum of Art;



Portrait of Madame Cézanne in a Striped Dress (1883–85) from Japan’s Yokohama Museum of Art;




Madame Cézanne in Blue (ca. 1888–90) from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston;

and the aforementioned canvases from the Metropolitan Museum’s collection. Highlights of the works on paper will include 3 striking watercolors, 14 drawings, and 3 rare sketchbooks containing affectionate studies of Hortense and young Paul.

Exhibition Credits

Madame Cézanne is organized by Dita Amory, Acting Associate Curator in Charge and Administrator of the Robert Lehman Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with Kathryn Kremnitzer, Research Assistant.

Publication




The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue written by a team of scholars and edited by Dita Amory. It will be published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

(Sức khỏe mỗi ngày) Top 5 loại hoa quả giúp phát triển trí não cho trẻ, cha mẹ nên nhớ

Cam Cam là loại trái cây chứa nhiều vitamin C nhất cùng với hàm lượng vitamin A, B1, khoáng chất tốt cho trí não. Mỗi ngày uống một cốc nước cam ép hoặc 1 quả cam sẽ giú cơ thể minh mẫn, tăng cường sức đề kháng để giảm căng thẳng và mệt mỏi, ăn trực tiếp rất tốt bởi trong xác cam chứa nhiều chất xơ tốt cho hệ tiêu hóa. Chuối Quả chuối quen thuộc và bổ dưỡng đối với tất cả chúng ta. Các nhà khoa học đã chỉ ra chuối có chứa nhiều serotonin có khả năng truyền tín hiệu nhanh đến não giúp phản ứng kịp thời và nhanh nhậy trước mọi tình huống. Trong quả chuối chứa vitamin C, E,… giúp não bộ sản sinh ra các chất điều hòa làm điều hòa giấc ngủ sâu và ngon hơn. Mỗi ngày bạn chỉ nên ăn 1 quả là đủ cho não bộ và cơ thể, nhưng ăn quá nhiều dễ bị tiêu chảy không tốt cho sức khỏe. Ảnh minh họa Táo Táo là trái cây của sức khỏe không chỉ tốt cho tim mạch, đường ruột,… nó còn đáp ứng được nhu cầu dinh dưỡng cần thiết cho não bộ. Với hàm lượng chất chống oxy hóa cao giúp tăng acetycholine chất ...

Degas/Cassatt at the National Gallery of Art

Mary Cassatt , Little Girl in a Blue Armchair , 1878 oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon Edgar Degas's (1834–1917) influence on fellow impressionist Mary Cassatt (1844–1926) is widely known, but her role in shaping his work and introducing him to American audiences is fully examined for the first time in Degas/Cassatt . On view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington—the sole venue worldwide—from May 11 through October 5, 2014, the exhibition includes some 70 works in a variety of media. Groundbreaking technical analysis is presented by conservators and scientists who examined key works by both artists. "Despite differences of gender and nationality, Degas and Cassatt forged a deep friendship founded on respect and admiration, and we are delighted to share the results of this relationship with our visitors. The Gallery is particularly well suited to the exploration of this subject because of the exceptional ...

Visions and Nightmares: Four Centuries of Spanish Drawings

All works: The Morgan Library & Museum, New York All works, unless noted, photography: Graham S. Haber Visions and Nightmares: Four Centuries of Spanish Drawings at the Morgan Library & Museum January 17–May 11, 2014 explores the shifting roles and attitudes toward the art of drawing in Spain, as well as the impact of the Catholic Church and the nightmare of the Inquisition on Spanish artists and their work. It is the first exhibition of Spanish drawings ever to be held at the Morgan Library & Museum, whose holdings in this area are relatively small but strong. The exhibition features more than twenty drawings spanning the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. Works by well-known artists such as José de Ribera, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and Francisco Goya are presented alongside sheets by equally talented but less familiar artists, including Vicente Carducho, Alonso Cano, and Eugenio Lucas. Complementing the drawings is a display of contemporary Spanish letters and...