Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

1980

Thesis Director

Carl Wilen

Abstract

In this paper, Cezanne's life and work are discussed with emphasis on his influence on the Modern Movement in Art. Questions are raised concerning the interpretation of his work both by art historians and artists. This, in turn, casts doubt on some of the premises of Modernism. It is important to realize that Cezanne had a great respect for the art of the old masters and, had he lived, would probably have been abhorred by modernist developments.

To understand Cezanne's complex attitude, his background is extensively dealt with in a biographical section. His relationship with the realist novelist Emile Zola is also important in this respect. Emile Zola also played an active role in the Impressionist controversy in the 1860's when Cezanne first moved to Paris. Cezanne's involvement with the Impressionists, particularly Pissarro, led to his rejection of literary content for a concern with formalism.

Since this aspect of his work is most important in his influence on Modernism, it is discussed in detail. It involved a rejection of conventional perspective in which the illusion of space is created through drawing in favor of space realized through the use of color. In Cezanne's work, the drawing results from observation in which objects are seen as flat outlines of shapes. This problem is discussed with reference to views by various critics, most notably Erle Loran in his analysis of Cezanne's compositions.

Theories arising from Cezanne's work are open to question because of the contradictory nature of Cezanne's own words and because Cezanne favored an intuitive approach through working directly from nature. This point is reinforced by numerous quotations from Cezanne's letters. Cezanne's inability to form a consistent theory does not deny the validity of his art, but demonstrates that painting is a visual language. In addition to this, the reliance on theories has been damaging to art since it has encouraged eclecticism and, hence, weakened individuality. To strengthen this point, the parallel between Modernism in Painting and Architecture is mentioned. The shortcomings of the latter have become clear in the second half of the twentieth century. They largely result from the use of dogmas continually expressed by the leading Modernist architects.

Cezanne's principle of gaining knowledge from direct experience of nature and through testing any theories in the presence of nature is presented as the most valid way of working.

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