There were several subjects that Paul Cézanne returned to repeatedly during his career. One was Mont Sainte-Victoire. Another was Marie-Hortense Fiquet, a woman who would become his wife several years after this painting was made. Cézanne painted 27 oil paintings of Fiquet. A three-quarter portrait like this is generally considered well-suited for capturing a facial expression, but how does it work in this painting? Although a slight brightness is perceptible in her cheeks, her expression appears stiff, like she is just one element in a still life. Cézanne is known to have told Fiquet that “apples don't move,” and this painting certainly suggests that for the artist both apples and people held equal status in his paintings. (MINAMISHIMA Ko)
There were several subjects that Paul Cézanne returned to repeatedly during his career. One was Mont Sainte-Victoire. Another was Marie-Hortense Fiquet, a woman who would become his wife several years after this painting was made. Cézanne painted 27 oil paintings of Fiquet. A three-quarter portrait like this is generally considered well-suited for capturing a facial expression, but how does it work in this painting? Although a slight brightness is perceptible in her cheeks, her expression appears stiff, like she is just one element in a still life. Cézanne is known to have told Fiquet that “apples don't move,” and this painting certainly suggests that for the artist both apples and people held equal status in his paintings.
(MINAMISHIMA Ko)