Paul Cézanne And His Eternal Feminine
Professor Runyen
Art 100
10/17/13
Paul Cézanne and His Eternal Feminine
For post-impressionist artist Paul Cézanne, the nude was a central role in his career, however, for an artist who usually drew from life, he happened to be uncomfortable with naked models and was even quoted to say, “Woman models frighten me.” (Getty) Looking at Cézanne’s 17” x 20 7/8” oil on canvas The Eternal Feminine from 1877, “frighten” does not seem to be the only affect woman have on him.
My boyfriend and I rushed into the Getty Center with excited curiosity, wondering about what kind of artwork we would find. We only had an hour to explore the museum and find a piece that I liked enough to want to write about. When we came across this painting in particular, …show more content…
I had to take a step closer. I see that it is a painting of what appears to be a woman sitting in the middle of a crowd of men and I can vaguely hear my boyfriend whispering the words from the plaque hanging adjacent of the piece, “domineering woman… crowd of men fighting for her attention… None of the men… artist himself… can resist her temptation…” (Getty) My boyfriend looks to the painting and laughs “See! Everyone thinks woman are evil!” and with that I knew I loved it and wanted to learn more.
This oil painting on a small 17” x 20 7/8” canvas is an abstract representation of a nude woman, with red eye sockets, centered on a curtained thrown-like seat. Surrounding this pale expressionless woman are men of different social standards ranging from musicians, to church bishops, to the artist himself (Getty). Due to the small scale the artist uses, you almost instinctively look closer and examine the painting more so than you would if the picture had been bigger. This was most likely intentional to get the viewer to pay closer attention to the detail the artist put into the work, such like his signature brush strokes or the expressions of the woman and men in the painting. The men appear desperate and almost aggressive for her attention while on contrary she sits with calm and ease. Cézanne brings your eyes directly to this woman, the apparent focal point, using a balance of approximate symmetry, giving the impression that the men around her are symmetrical on both sides of her, yet you clearly differentiate the variety of men who are there.
Not only does this element draw you to Cézanne’s subject, the way he applies his medium does as well.
During the year this work was created Cézanne began to use parallel diagonal strokes (Getty). He would lay one short and thick stroke next to the other as compared to the so many chisel marks on a sculpture (NY Times). This technique has been described as “multiplicity of successfully probed sensations” as it gives the painting the appearance of at once timeless and in flux (NY Times). In The Eternal Feminine in particular, urgently hatched diagonal brush strokes assist in leading the eye to the central figure (Getty). What he also does to lead your eye to his subject is his use of organic shapes. Everything from the placement of the men surrounding this woman, to the direction and angles of the objects depicted (such as the musicians trumpets and the artists canvas), Cézanne intentionally positioned them in a way to imply diagonal lines that guide the viewers’ attention to the center. Cézanne lastly incorporate a dark-like feeling with his choice of color harmony, also creating a mood that really unifies this piece. He chooses to use analogous hues of blue and green for the majority of this piece which creates a somewhat depressing or sad mood, as does his subjects. Cézanne also adds small pieces of red and yellow which are complimented by the green and blue, causing them to stand out. He also paints the woman, the Eternal Feminine, in such an intense tint of blue she is …show more content…
nearly white, the only light portion of the painting which is another way Cézanne steers your eye to her.
When Cézanne painted The Eternal Feminine in 1877, it was beginning to be a dark time for him.
Around this time Cézanne began to withdraw himself from his impressionist colleagues and instead isolated himself and his work at home, partially due to the disappointing responses his art continuously received (Biography). No one is sure of the meaning behind this painting but due to the title, the subject, the mood and all else that brings thus artwork together, Cézanne seems to send a clear message of his impression of women. The Eternal Feminine seems to depict the representation that woman are to be feared, yearned for, desired and are of eternally
powerful.
Works Cited
Kimmelmen, Michael. “Art View; Cézanne in All His Magnificient Glory.” New York Times 1996. NY Times website September 29, 2013.
"Paul Cézanne." 2013. The Biography Channel website. September 29, 2013.
“The Eternal Feminine.” The Getty Center website. September 29, 2013. < http://www.getty.edu/art/collectionSearch/collectionSearch?col=museum&nh=10&pw=100%25&lk=1&qt=paul+C%E9zanne+&x=-1036&y=-554>
Art 100
10/17/13
Paul Cézanne and His Eternal Feminine
For post-impressionist artist Paul Cézanne, the nude was a central role in his career, however, for an artist who usually drew from life, he happened to be uncomfortable with naked models and was even quoted to say, “Woman models frighten me.” (Getty) Looking at Cézanne’s 17” x 20 7/8” oil on canvas The Eternal Feminine from 1877, “frighten” does not seem to be the only affect woman have on him.
My boyfriend and I rushed into the Getty Center with excited curiosity, wondering about what kind of artwork we would find. We only had an hour to explore the museum and find a piece that I liked enough to want to write about. When we came across this painting in particular, …show more content…
I had to take a step closer. I see that it is a painting of what appears to be a woman sitting in the middle of a crowd of men and I can vaguely hear my boyfriend whispering the words from the plaque hanging adjacent of the piece, “domineering woman… crowd of men fighting for her attention… None of the men… artist himself… can resist her temptation…” (Getty) My boyfriend looks to the painting and laughs “See! Everyone thinks woman are evil!” and with that I knew I loved it and wanted to learn more.
This oil painting on a small 17” x 20 7/8” canvas is an abstract representation of a nude woman, with red eye sockets, centered on a curtained thrown-like seat. Surrounding this pale expressionless woman are men of different social standards ranging from musicians, to church bishops, to the artist himself (Getty). Due to the small scale the artist uses, you almost instinctively look closer and examine the painting more so than you would if the picture had been bigger. This was most likely intentional to get the viewer to pay closer attention to the detail the artist put into the work, such like his signature brush strokes or the expressions of the woman and men in the painting. The men appear desperate and almost aggressive for her attention while on contrary she sits with calm and ease. Cézanne brings your eyes directly to this woman, the apparent focal point, using a balance of approximate symmetry, giving the impression that the men around her are symmetrical on both sides of her, yet you clearly differentiate the variety of men who are there.
Not only does this element draw you to Cézanne’s subject, the way he applies his medium does as well.
During the year this work was created Cézanne began to use parallel diagonal strokes (Getty). He would lay one short and thick stroke next to the other as compared to the so many chisel marks on a sculpture (NY Times). This technique has been described as “multiplicity of successfully probed sensations” as it gives the painting the appearance of at once timeless and in flux (NY Times). In The Eternal Feminine in particular, urgently hatched diagonal brush strokes assist in leading the eye to the central figure (Getty). What he also does to lead your eye to his subject is his use of organic shapes. Everything from the placement of the men surrounding this woman, to the direction and angles of the objects depicted (such as the musicians trumpets and the artists canvas), Cézanne intentionally positioned them in a way to imply diagonal lines that guide the viewers’ attention to the center. Cézanne lastly incorporate a dark-like feeling with his choice of color harmony, also creating a mood that really unifies this piece. He chooses to use analogous hues of blue and green for the majority of this piece which creates a somewhat depressing or sad mood, as does his subjects. Cézanne also adds small pieces of red and yellow which are complimented by the green and blue, causing them to stand out. He also paints the woman, the Eternal Feminine, in such an intense tint of blue she is …show more content…
nearly white, the only light portion of the painting which is another way Cézanne steers your eye to her.
When Cézanne painted The Eternal Feminine in 1877, it was beginning to be a dark time for him.
Around this time Cézanne began to withdraw himself from his impressionist colleagues and instead isolated himself and his work at home, partially due to the disappointing responses his art continuously received (Biography). No one is sure of the meaning behind this painting but due to the title, the subject, the mood and all else that brings thus artwork together, Cézanne seems to send a clear message of his impression of women. The Eternal Feminine seems to depict the representation that woman are to be feared, yearned for, desired and are of eternally
powerful.
Works Cited
Kimmelmen, Michael. “Art View; Cézanne in All His Magnificient Glory.” New York Times 1996. NY Times website September 29, 2013.
"Paul Cézanne." 2013. The Biography Channel website. September 29, 2013.
“The Eternal Feminine.” The Getty Center website. September 29, 2013. < http://www.getty.edu/art/collectionSearch/collectionSearch?col=museum&nh=10&pw=100%25&lk=1&qt=paul+C%E9zanne+&x=-1036&y=-554>