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Lot Essay
Portraits account for the subject matter in a large number of Cézanne's paintings during early to mid 1860s, and under the circumstances of his very circumscribed male world it is not surprising that almost all of them depict sitters, most of whom were friends or acquaintances of the artist. On occasion, the artist painted himself. Venturi (op. cit., p. 77) considered the present painting to be a self-portrait. Rewald believes that the earliest known self-portrait is his no. 72, which he dates to 1862-1864. The artist based this painting on a photograph that was supposedly taken in 1861, when he was 22 years old. In the next work which Rewald accepts as a self-portrait, Portrait de Cézanne aux longs cheveux (circa 1865; Rewald no. 77), the artist's hair has already noticeably thinned and receded. The present painting is similar in visage, although less refined in handling, to Portrait d'homme barbu (Rewald no. 71), also ascribed to 1862-1864, which Rewald thought may have been a study after a 16th century portrait.
Cézanne used the same technique in the present portrait that he utilized in his landscapes of this period, applying emphatic, parallel brushstrokes that run in a single direction within the shapes of hair, forehead, beard and shirt. This work was in fact painted over a landscape, glimpses of which appear in the left-hand corners and along the lower edges. This manner may also be seen in Tête de Viellard (Le Père Rouvel à Bennecourt) (circa 1866; Rewald no. 97), in which an earlier landscape painting again shows through the portrait. Within a few months this raw, expressive style led to the palette-knife manner which characterizes the great series of portraits of Cézanne's uncle Dominique, painted in 1866.
Regardless of the identity of the sitter, Cézanne has in the present painting portrayed a man who appears tense, introspective and defiant, qualities which the artist could have easily projected from his own youthful personality. During these years Cézanne sought to evade his father's influence by living and studying painting in Paris, and he suffered his first rejections from the official Salon, as well as failing an examination for the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In 1869 Cézanne met Hortense Fiquet, who would bear him a son out-of-wedlock three years later. This relationship brought new responsibilities with it, and the artist, now 30 years old, entered a new phase in which his life and his art grew more settled, measured and mature.
Cézanne used the same technique in the present portrait that he utilized in his landscapes of this period, applying emphatic, parallel brushstrokes that run in a single direction within the shapes of hair, forehead, beard and shirt. This work was in fact painted over a landscape, glimpses of which appear in the left-hand corners and along the lower edges. This manner may also be seen in Tête de Viellard (Le Père Rouvel à Bennecourt) (circa 1866; Rewald no. 97), in which an earlier landscape painting again shows through the portrait. Within a few months this raw, expressive style led to the palette-knife manner which characterizes the great series of portraits of Cézanne's uncle Dominique, painted in 1866.
Regardless of the identity of the sitter, Cézanne has in the present painting portrayed a man who appears tense, introspective and defiant, qualities which the artist could have easily projected from his own youthful personality. During these years Cézanne sought to evade his father's influence by living and studying painting in Paris, and he suffered his first rejections from the official Salon, as well as failing an examination for the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In 1869 Cézanne met Hortense Fiquet, who would bear him a son out-of-wedlock three years later. This relationship brought new responsibilities with it, and the artist, now 30 years old, entered a new phase in which his life and his art grew more settled, measured and mature.