Laura Gascoigne

The genius of Cezanne

The painter used his strokes of colour not to suggest light falling on things, like the impressionists, but to create a sense of air circulating around them

Gaugin’s prize possession: ‘Still Life with Fruit Dish’, 1879-80, by Cezanne. Credit: Museum of Modern Art / Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David Rockefeller  
issue 29 October 2022

Pity the poor curators of major exhibitions struggling to find fresh takes on famous masters. The curators of Tate Modern’s new Cezanne blockbuster have begun by dropping the acute accent from his surname, apparently a Parisian affectation not in use on the artist’s home turf. Anticipating grumbles about another major exhibition devoted to a dead white male artist, they have emphasised Cezanne’s outsider status by painting him as a provincial from Provence.

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