1877, Paul Cezanne, Victor Chocquet -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the exhibition label: A customs official of modest means, Chocquet was one of the most passionate advocates of impressionism. His distinguished collection of modern art included some thirty-five paintings by Cézanne, by far the largest single cache of his work. This portrait received much ridicule at the 1877 impressionist exhibition. To an audience used to refined portraits of dignified sitters, the casual presentation of a somewhat unkempt figure painted with thick strokes of barely mixed pigment was too jarring. One observer warned pregnant women to steer clear of “this head . . . so strange,” lest it incite premature birth.
1877, Paul Cezanne, Victor Chocquet -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the exhibition label: A customs official of modest means, Chocquet was one of the most passionate advocates of impressionism. His distinguished collection of modern art included some thirty-five paintings by Cézanne, by far the largest single cache of his work. This portrait received much ridicule at the 1877 impressionist exhibition. To an audience used to refined portraits of dignified sitters, the casual presentation of a somewhat unkempt figure painted with thick strokes of barely mixed pigment was too jarring. One observer warned pregnant women to steer clear of “this head . . . so strange,” lest it incite premature birth.