Portrait de Paul fils

Cézanne met Hortense Fiquet in 1870, while she was an artist's model in Paris. She became the artist's lifelong companion. Their son Paul was born out of wedlock in 1872. Cézanne was obliged to hide the existence of his family from his father, who would not have approved of this irregular arrangement. Indeed, when the elder Cézanne eventually found out about Hortense and Paul fils, he cut his son's allowance in half, forcing the artist to live in the family home at Aix, while Hortense and Paul fils stayed in Marseille with assistance from Cézanne's friend Emile Zola. Cézanne and Hortense were finally married in 1886 with the consent of the artist's parents.

Paul fils was probably around six years old when this study was drawn. It was probably made during a time when the artist was able to stay with his family; Adrien Chappuis records numerous other drawings of Paul fils done in 1877-1878 (see Chappuis nos. 694, 697- 715). Cézanne loved his son dearly, and the artist's sketchbooks contain drawings by Paul fils, who was even allowed to draw over his father's sketches.