Interpretive Resource

Paul Cézanne is generally hailed today as the father of modern painting, but recognition of the magnitude of his contribution to the history of art came only after his death. In part this was a result of how he chose to live and work. As a student in Paris, he joined the Impressionists and even exhibited with them in 1874 and 1877. Unable to cope, however, with the public ridicule of his art, Cézanne withdrew from the group and opted for a reclusive existence, painting in solitude, mostly in Provence, especially in and around his native Aix-en-Provence. Although hermitlike by nature, Cézanne did marry. The union seems not to have been very satisfactory for either the artist or his wife. Our greatest insight into the character of Madame Cézanne comes from the artist’s many depictions of her.

The Art Institute’s Madame Cézanne in a Yellow Chair is one of three portraits of her in the same chair and pose from the same period. The simplicity of the portrait is instantly apparent: a three-quarter-length figure sits in a three-quarter-turn view; the sitter’s dress is red, the chair is yellow, the background is blue. The presentation is honest, straightforward, and unadorned, much like the woman herself. Her masklike face and tightly sealed lips reveal nothing. Her hands, although somewhat twisted, lie dormant, completing the serene oval of her arms. Madame Cézanne, who posed for hours, presents herself with a sense of deliberation not unlike that which was shown by the artist in composing the image itself.