Until the 7th of July, Complesso Vittoriano in Rome hosts a review on the works of Cézanne, an undisputed late 19th century painting genius, true propelling fulcrum of the figurative revolution done soon after by the avant-gardes and, in particular e, of Picasso and Braque’s cubism. Certainly not so rich as the retrospective which in 1995 the Grand Palais in Paris had dedicated to this author, the Rome exhibition nevertheless shows a good selection of paintings covering the whole life span of the artist.The son of a rich banker from Aix en Provence, Cézanne, childhood friend of Zola, lives the fascinating and hostile Paris of the Impressionists, with whom, though maintaining his own stylistic autonomy, he will share the wish to break and the irritable spirit of the traditional art system, such as was alive in the Paris Salons and the Academies.
Strongly tied into the simplicity of things, everyday objects, familiar faces and places which, like the Estaque, better communicate deeply with his restless and tormented soul, Cézanne adopts a technically new painting, made of flat and superimposed lay outs, small and delicate traces which rest one upon the other. Especially in the works of his last period, the objects give up spatial depth, according to a modality of vision which his successors will adopt as their own, so much as to codify it as an indispensable element of the new art, which soon Picasso and his lot will impose to the public’s attention.
A man of great passions, a revolutionary, attracted by women and alcohol, Cézanne starts paingint next to Pissarro, which he will consider for the rest of his life as his true and only teacher. After the «betrayal» of his friend Zola, who makes him the irreverent and squalid protagonist of the novel «L'Oeuvre», Cézanne goes through some difficult times, of great solitude and devotion to alcohol, by now devoid of faith in that world that doesn’t accept or understand his work; he will have to wait until the exhibition merchant Vollard dedicates to him in 1895 to collect the first, timid public consensus.
Until his death, which occurred in 1906, Cézanne was, and continues to be, one of the main pivots for the most significant and revolutionary experiences of 20th century art. His «Mont Sainte Victoire», essential in the form and revolutionary in the use of colour, have driven forward later generations to move on the path of research and independence from the historicized standards.
Paul Cezanne: il padre dei moderni
Where: Complesso del Vittoriano
Via San Pietro in Carcere, Roma
When: Until the 7th of July
Opening times: Monday – Thursday 9:30 am - 7:30 pm; Friday and Saturday 9:30 am - 11:30 pm; Sunday 9:30 am - 8:30 pm
Ticket fees: € 8,50, € 6 concessions
Info: +39 06 678 06 64
March.2002
Cezanne (In French)
Virtual Museum
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