Paul Mezanne Analysis

Paul Cezanne was a Post-Impressionist French painter who reflected on his perception uniquely through his self-portraits over decades as he documented his physical being through the way. His self-portrait painted in 1875 is a clear revelation of his thought process as he molds the figure from the fluid movement of the brushstrokes in highly pigmented paint. This painting was painted in oil medium on canvas and currently resides in Museé d’Orsay in Paris, France.

Paul Cézanne, born on January 19, 1839 , spent most of his youth and childhood in Aix-en –Provence in the South of France. Self-portraiture came to be an important part of his life as an artist as he painted thirty-six pictures of himself, as well as producing approximately twenty-six

He looked at people, objects, nature and his composition with a sense of geometry in organization rather than focusing on their reality and translating that onto the canvas. This self-portrait is testimony to that process of simplification as he treats each part of the composition with broad brush strokes and fluid patterns and still brings out the purpose and mood with clarity. This portrait reveals Cézanne’s artistic personality reflected in his technique and treatment of space on the canvas. He painted the face with hues that illuminate a part of the face forming a strong sense of perspective. He uses a series of shades to contour the face instead of using contour lines. There is a seeming movement in the treatment of the background with voids painted in darker hues and this movement is contrasted by the facial expression and basic dark clothing. Cézanne manages to spin all these elements into one frame by the sheer use of color and matching tones of the face with the background to establish

The pink terracotta in the background and its tints are also used in enhancing the facial features which establishes a literal relationship between the figure and the background. The dark hair and clothing form a drastic contrast but the treatment of the brush strokes around the figure and especially the figure form a connection between the two. There are a few irregular edges on the side of the clothing and the light highlights right next to them in the background provide enhancement and dimensionality to the figure. These qualities establish a clear spatial relationship between the figure and the background as