Allison Campbell

Dr. Victor Youritzin

Cezanne to 1950

January 13 2013


Seeing and Feeling: A Comparison of Cezanne and Van Gogh

The trend of moving out of the studio and into the outdoors gave a renewed
interest in the untreated, and unknown possibilities of art of the early 20
th
- century.
Before the Impressionists popularized the trend of plien-air painting, the Old
masters, Barbizons, Romantics, and Neo-classicists prominently used allegorical
and mythical subject matter in an academic style. A rejection of this style
displayed prominently displayed in the Louvre, that for many painters such as Paul
Czanne and Vincent Van Gogh was the grounds of there artistic education, was
an initial step towards what is now know as the modern style of art. In the turn
of the 20
th
-century Paul Cezanne discards the old masters of the Louve saying to
Emile Beranrd in a letter,
We must not however, be satisfied with retaining the beautiful formulas of
our illustrious predecessors. Let us go forth to study beautiful nature, let us
try to free out minds from them, let us strive to express ourselves according
to our personal temperaments. Time and reflection, moreover, modify little
by little our vision, and at last comprehension comes to us ([ca 1902]
Chipp, 20).
Cezanne is known as the father of modern art because of his deconstruction of
nature into geometric forms, but looking at this quote one can see his influence
later in the European avant-garde for trying to paint what he saw in real time.
The Impressionists and Post-Impressionists used color as a heightened form
of expression because they were observing their model in the natural light of the
sun. The painters Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh used the forms of nature to
realize their artistic vision. Both were artists interested in painting the natural
world out of doors and escaped the metropolis of Paris at different times during
their careers to do so. They each started to form their own theory about what
constitutes an artist while corresponding with people through letters and these
letters give us clues as to their artistic process and vision. Van Goghs letters
cover his stay in Arles, France from 1888 to 1899; Cezannes letters are from 1886
to 1906 with the majority written in Aix, France. The letters of each artist express
their ideas of what an artist should be. These thoughts directly relate to the process
of each individual, as they both find inspirations away from the urban landscape in
the realization of these ideas. Nature becomes so intertwined with the process of
Cezanne and Van Gogh that it becomes important to note the differences in their
approach to painting. Since the artists paint similar subject matter, it is important
to note the differences in psychological dispositions.
The differences between the two artists concepts formed through their own
exploration of painting that stemmed from the distinction between process,
technique and tone. Each artist had his own design of how he wanted to paint.
Cezanne wanted to paint what he believed was true vision with nature as a model;
Van Gogh wanted to express his true feelings through the study of nature.
Cezannes calculations are compared to Van Goghs passions.
Van Gogh painted to quiet his own apprehensions about his life. He was a
religious man, but does not include any allusions to biblical stories in his works
from 1988 to 1899. Instead, he wanted to express his fervor for his faith as well as
his to find a way to calm his anxiety to live a noble, useful life. He sees himself as
an arbitrary colorist who uses nature as a model to express his emotions. He says
to his brother Theo, I can very well do without God both in my life and in my
painting, but I cannot, ill as I am, do without something which is greater than I,
which is my life the power to create (Letter to Theo, Arles, n.d [August 1888],
in Chipp, Hi., Theories of Modern Art, etc., p. 35). Van Gogh creates his own
vision with the intensity of colors and the forceful lines created by heavy
application of paint (Illustration 1)
i
. Through his brushstroke and choice of color
the exterior world he perceives allows him to elevate his interior emotions to
something that he sees as conducive for creation. He viewed painting as a noble
profession and it seems he is validating his passions.
In their letters, both artists talk of the Old Masters. Van Gogh had
adoration for understanding the true meaning of their work. Cezannes opinion
differs; he views them as only a secondary source to nature. He says to Emile
Bernard about the Old Masters, They are good. I went to the Louvre every
morning when I was in Paris; but I ended up by attaching myself to nature more
than they did. One must make a vision for ones self (Conversation with Emile
Bernard, published in Mercure de France, 1921, Chipp, 12,). Cezannes response
is an indicator of his persistent search for his true vision. His ideological
foundation is that nature is the best model for finding his vision.
Cezanne spent a considerable amount of his time looking at the shifting
configurations of his vision. To find his motif is a slow process that involves his
study of nature out of doors (Illustration 2)
ii
. He explains his method to his son
Paul, Here on the edge of the river, the motifs are very plentiful, the same subject
seen from a different angle gives a subject for study of the highest interest and so
varied that I think I could be occupied for months without changing my place,
simply bending a little more to the right or left (Letter to Paul Cezanne, Aix, 8
September, in Chipp, 22,). Cezanne analyzes the different viewpoints and
perspectives one gets when looking at an object in life instead of assuming nature
is always static. He says to Bernard, I am progressing very slowly, for nature
reveals herself to me in very complex forms; and the progress needed is incessant
(Letter to Emile Bernard, Aix, 12 May 1904, Chipp, 19,).
Cezanne allowed his senses to experience time while being out of doors; his
compositions represent his shifting state of vision. He also broke down complex
forms into shapes like the cylinder, sphere, and cone. Cezanne tried to paint the
picture as objectively as possible, and to keep his emotions away from his
composition. But I must always come back to this: a painter must devote himself
entirely to the study of nature and try to produce pictures which are an instruction
(Letter to Emile Bernard, Aix, 26 May 1904, Chipp, 19,).
The attraction to processing the visual world through painting is common to
Cezanne and Van Gogh. The painters uses the formal elements to create a
composition with lines and form that relate to each other, but instead of merely
trying to replicate nature onto a canvas they infuse the realization of life as they
saw it enfold in front of them. The difference between the painters is the
configuration of formal elements, painting technique, and overall tone.
Painting within a year of each other, these two paintings are comparisons of
color, tone, and composition. Van Goghs Patience Escalier or Old Peasant is
a peasant man in a blue coat with a flat orange background (Illustration 3)
iii
. His
hands are folded and he looks straight into the viewers line of vision. The
treatment of the paint in broken lines highlights the rough exterior the peasants
hands and face brought on working with the earth. From 1888 to 1889 Van Gogh
works in Arles, France and is influenced by the color schemes of the area. This
break from Paris allows him to break with the rules of color that were implanted in
Paris by the Impressionists. In his letter to Theo he declares, I cannot paint it as
beautifully as that, but it absorbs me so much that I let myself go, never thinking
of a single rule (Letter to Theo, Arles, n.d [ca. September 1888] Chipp, 37,).
Van Gogh uses contrasting color to create shapes and distinguish
background and foreground. The blue coat of the peasant could be an influence of
the Arles landscape
iv
, which is contrasted by the orange background that may
represent the earth. The peasant man is formed by land and Van Gogh makes the
focal point of the painting the eyes, from which rings of paint draw the eyes into
the painting. Van Goghs vibrating orange background, with the flattened blue
coat seemingly drawn with the paintbrush, is more concerned with the expressive
strokes of the coat hanging off the peasants strong shoulders. The intense colors
and intimate compositions give an ambiguous tone to Von Goghs because it is
unclear if the peasant is exhausted from his labor or content to live a simple life.
Van Goghs exaltation through painting is felt through the warmth of the sky-blues
and earth-oranges, but the anxiety and loneliness he may have experienced is seen
through the direct gaze of the peasant.
Paul Cezannes Ambroise Vollard, completed in 1899, gives a
completely different take on the portrait (Illustration 4)
v
. The painting also uses
the subject matter of single man sitting on a bench like object with a window in
the background. The color palette has a greater variation of colors that layer on top
of one another to create heavier, darker shapes. Cezannes paint. The eyes accept
that the man in Amboise Vollard has a three- dimensional element even though
there is more than one line of perspective. The composition contains not just the
human subject but also a background suggesting architecture.
Cezannes technique is a more even application of paint compared to Van
Gogh. Instead of heavy impasto he creates texture by breaking down the motif
into abstract shapes. In Ambroise Vollard triangles can be found all over the
canvas. The white shirt underneath the jacket is an inverted equilateral triangle
that leads the eye toward the triangular shape of the bended knee of the man. The
two triangular shapes of the hairline flatten the forehead. The lapels of the jacket
are also triangular and these shapes create relationships that bring the eye around
the canvas. Breaking down the world to geometric shapes suggests an overall tone
of alienation from society or an intrusion of the mans space. Ambroise Vollard is
a real person with whom Cezanne would have interacted in society. Vollard was
an important art dealer of 20
th
-century French art. Cezanne may have disliked the
man, as his painting reflects detachment through the black, button-like eyes.
The formal choices of color, shape, and texture are differences that separate
Van Gogh and Cezanne when judged only by formal elements. Because the
process of each artist was so interconnected to their character, it is important to
note the struggles faced by each artist. Cezanne alienates himself from society
because he cannot stand it, and later in his life cannot bear any contact. Van Gogh
feels the need to make use of his life for a greater good and has an overall anxiety
of not living up living a noble life. These struggles brought both artists out of Paris
into the countryside of France where they express their artistic vision in nature and
create innovations in painting.


i
Schapiro, Meyer. Vincent Van Gogh. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 2003, Pg. 94
ii
Catherine, A., Picasso Cezanne, Musee Garnet, Aix-en Provence, 2009, pg. 116

iii
Schapiro, Meyer. Vincent Van Gogh. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 2003, Pg.
74
iv
Schapiro, Meyer. Vincent Van Gogh. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 2003, Pg.
74

v
Catherine, A., Picasso Cezanne, Musee Garnet, Aix-en Provence, 2009, pg. 36