Uncle Dominique in a turban, 1866/67 FWN 407 44cm x 37cm
Cezanne liked a bit of the old theatricals! One of his favourites was to dress as a Provencal peasant, and wheel three paintings in a wheelbarrow to present to the prestigious Paris Salon for admission to the annual Academie de Beaux Arts (1748 to 1890). The paintings were done in a style that he named “maniere couillarde” (style with balls!) They were consistently rejected in the harshest of terms.
By the 1860’s there were 100,000 miles of railway track through-out France, with 6 large railway companies funded by the State to the tune of 634m French francs, which brought an increase of investment of 500%, and profits of 11% annually. At the beginning of the 1800’s there were just about 700 paintings in the Salon; 60 years later there were over 5000. The new rich wanted to adorn their houses with vast historical canvasses, or confectionary nudes – of course, with the backing of the Academy, so as to ensure the value of their assets.
To challenge the Salon was to invite not just ridicule, but economic hardship as well!
Cezanne’s style was developed over four phases (roughly): firstly the 1860’s: his maniere couillarde; the 1870’s saw him develop a lighter palette painting in the open air under the guidance of Pissarro, usually referred to as his Impressionist style; in the 1880’s he developed what is known now as his ‘constructivist’ phase where he uses little brushstrokes, often of different colours, all moving in the same direction, giving a shimmering effect; and thereafter his final mature style from 1890 onwards.
Cezanne painted his Uncle Dominique about 10 times: no doubt a patient man, Dominique Aubert, his uncle on his mother’s side, was by profession, a bailiff. When you examine the painting, you can see why Cezanne described his own style as ballsy – you can see it as thick paint, smashed onto the canvass with a palette knife, dark, brooding and angry!
Actually, the method of painting required rather a lot of patience and deliberation, because it requires layers of paint which Cezanne applied with a palette knife; then he would have to let each layer dry in order to avoid cracking, before applying the next layer. It is not a method that lends itself to the impetuosity of anger, but something more deliberate. He was, I suspect, learning how to apply paint: he was discovering the sensuality and beauty of touching and manipulating the medium of his art.
Close as the petals of a tulip flower, face caressed
Strong as the flame in the candle hour, spirit blessed
Tenderness of touch conveys love so much, grace expressed
Be still, all is well; realized power, anger harnessed.