1906, Paul Cezanne, Seated Man -- Tate Modern (London) (special exhibition)
From the museum label:
"Of all my experiences of Cezanne’s works, the most haunting have been his portraits of the gardener Vallier. Of course, the Mont Sainte-Victoire paintings and watercolours have occupied my mind for years. But the epiphany came with the gardener’s portraits. This is a simple man, maybe the closest to Cezanne. He is sitting on a small wall, or on a chair. He has a thin face and penetrating eyes, and is sunk in a meditation, probably in a lifetime of meditations. And the nobility it entails. ... The gardener Vallier’s portrait is Cezanne’s ultimate ‘mountain’, his Ecce homo, his real testament. The gardener is sitting cross-legged, looking from his bench at the master’s studio, lost in his thoughts. And Cezanne, watching him, is overwhelmed. No philosopher’s portrait has ever reached the evocative power of this one."
-- Etel Adnan. Etel Adnan (1925–2021) was a poet, writer and artist who lived and worked in Lebanon, Syria, France and the US.
1906, Paul Cezanne, Seated Man -- Tate Modern (London) (special exhibition)
From the museum label:
"Of all my experiences of Cezanne’s works, the most haunting have been his portraits of the gardener Vallier. Of course, the Mont Sainte-Victoire paintings and watercolours have occupied my mind for years. But the epiphany came with the gardener’s portraits. This is a simple man, maybe the closest to Cezanne. He is sitting on a small wall, or on a chair. He has a thin face and penetrating eyes, and is sunk in a meditation, probably in a lifetime of meditations. And the nobility it entails. ... The gardener Vallier’s portrait is Cezanne’s ultimate ‘mountain’, his Ecce homo, his real testament. The gardener is sitting cross-legged, looking from his bench at the master’s studio, lost in his thoughts. And Cezanne, watching him, is overwhelmed. No philosopher’s portrait has ever reached the evocative power of this one."
-- Etel Adnan. Etel Adnan (1925–2021) was a poet, writer and artist who lived and worked in Lebanon, Syria, France and the US.