Cézanne: The Self-Portraits - Hardcover

Platzman, Steven

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0520232917 ISBN 13: 9780520232914

Publisher: University of California Press, 2001

Synopsis

Cézanne revolutionized the way we see and transcribe the essence of the material world. His position is pivotal: his style is part of the canon of early modernism and his iconic images, his still lifes, and landscapes are associated with a unique analytical approach that changed the face of modern art. But how did Cézanne see and portray himself? His self-portraits are a surprisingly neglected area of study and there has been no extended and in-depth analysis of how Cézanne's signature style was used to fashion his self-image. Steven Platzman's accessible and richly illustrated book fills this gap by examining the stylistic development of Cézanne's self-portraits in an effort to understand how the artist saw himself and others, and how he positioned himself in the art world and French society. Platzman's detailed analysis of the paintings offers new explanations and assessments of significant aspects of Cézanne's career and oeuvre. Abundant and exquisitely reproduced illustrations, including crucial details, make Cézanne: The Self-Portraits an essential resource for anyone interested in this French master.

Platzman demonstrates that the expectation of a self- portrait from a master artist goes beyond color and structural analysis. He questions whether a Cézanne self-portrait reveals something of the artist's emotions, or whether it obscures the feelings of the man whose celebrated and groundbreaking style altered the course of the history of art. The author also thoroughly and clearly fleshes out the historical and artistic contexts of mid-nineteenth century France and investigates Cézanne's complex relationship with the avant-garde in the 1860s and early 1870s. He provides a new explanation for Cézanne's flirtation with impressionism and his subsequent adoption of a more personal, idiosyncratic style. He also takes a new and radically different view of Cézanne's so-called "narrative self-portraits," exploring for the first time his relationship with the icon of the femme fatale. Through these close visual analyses, readers will come to a greater understanding of the concerns, ambitions, and relationships that shaped Cézanne's oeuvre.

About this title

About the Author

Steven Platzman received his doctorate from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University. He is an independent art historian/dealer.

From the Back Cover

"Platzman writes very well; the text is skillfully balanced over the several decades of C zanne's life, rich in appropriate descriptive language, and, merci Dieu!, free of academic jargon." --Wayne Andersen, author of C zanne's Portrait Drawings

From the Inside Flap

"Platzman writes very well; the text is skillfully balanced over the several decades of Cézanne's life, rich in appropriate descriptive language, and, merci Dieu!, free of academic jargon."—Wayne Andersen, author of Cézanne's Portrait Drawings

Reviews

Few artists painted as many self-portraits as Paul C?zanne. Art dealer Platzman uses these self-portraits to explore the artist's psychological profile, personal and artistic development, and relationships with other artists and with women. Thirty-six paintings and 24 drawings are reproduced in this volume, providing the most comprehensive publication of the artist's self-portraits to date. Platzman's style is expansive and speculative, bringing a wide array of historical, cultural, and psychological material into his discussions. The result is a somewhat idiosyncratic work that is most suitable for research and specialized art collections. Kathryn Wekselman, MLn., Cincinnati
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0520232917
• ISBN 13: 9780520232914
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224