1866, Paul Cezanne, Antony Valabregue (detail) -- National Gallery of Art (Washington)
From the exhibition label: This ambitious portrait, painted partially with a palette knife, was Cézanne’s first submission to the Salon, the state-sponsored annual exhibition in Paris that was essential for launching an artist’s reputation. The overall coarse handling and the truculent tone of the sitter, with his indirect gaze and fists clenched against his thighs, offended the sensibilities of the jury, which rejected the canvas. One member accused the artist of painting it not just with a knife but with a pistol. A later portrait of the writer, nearby, is less aggressive, showing him in a more relaxed and sympathetic manner indebted to the style of Édouard Manet.
Link to the full painting.
1866, Paul Cezanne, Antony Valabregue (detail) -- National Gallery of Art (Washington)
From the exhibition label: This ambitious portrait, painted partially with a palette knife, was Cézanne’s first submission to the Salon, the state-sponsored annual exhibition in Paris that was essential for launching an artist’s reputation. The overall coarse handling and the truculent tone of the sitter, with his indirect gaze and fists clenched against his thighs, offended the sensibilities of the jury, which rejected the canvas. One member accused the artist of painting it not just with a knife but with a pistol. A later portrait of the writer, nearby, is less aggressive, showing him in a more relaxed and sympathetic manner indebted to the style of Édouard Manet.
Link to the full painting.