1867, Paul Cézanne, Uncle Dominique in Smock and Blue Cap -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the exhibition label: A court bailiff who patiently indulged his nephew’s demands, Dominique Aubert sometimes donned costumes for a series of ten portraits Cézanne painted in the fall of 1866. Rapidly building up the faces, he applied layer upon layer of paint with a palette knife (used for mixing pigment) and left slabs of colors unmodulated, a deliberately crude technique he would call “ballsy.” A visiting friend called the effect “mason’s painting,” suggesting they were composed with the confidence of a builder plastering a wall.
From the Met museum label: In the autumn of 1866, Cézanne undertook a series of paintings of his maternal uncle, Dominique Aubert, in different costumes. Here, he dons a robe and tasseled blue cap. In another work in The Met's collection, he poses as a monk (1993.400.1). A friend reported: "Every day there appears a [new] portrait of him." Cézanne applied his paint directly with a palette knife on the coarsely woven canvas, giving these pictures what he called a "gutsy" character.
1867, Paul Cézanne, Uncle Dominique in Smock and Blue Cap -- National Gallery of Art (Washington) (special exhibition)
From the exhibition label: A court bailiff who patiently indulged his nephew’s demands, Dominique Aubert sometimes donned costumes for a series of ten portraits Cézanne painted in the fall of 1866. Rapidly building up the faces, he applied layer upon layer of paint with a palette knife (used for mixing pigment) and left slabs of colors unmodulated, a deliberately crude technique he would call “ballsy.” A visiting friend called the effect “mason’s painting,” suggesting they were composed with the confidence of a builder plastering a wall.
From the Met museum label: In the autumn of 1866, Cézanne undertook a series of paintings of his maternal uncle, Dominique Aubert, in different costumes. Here, he dons a robe and tasseled blue cap. In another work in The Met's collection, he poses as a monk (1993.400.1). A friend reported: "Every day there appears a [new] portrait of him." Cézanne applied his paint directly with a palette knife on the coarsely woven canvas, giving these pictures what he called a "gutsy" character.