From Publishers Weekly
Once admired as a forerunner of modernists like Picasso and Braque, Cezanne is now appreciated on his own, and some art history mavens are even accepting that his achievement was unmatched by later generations. This is the long-awaited English version of a book that appeared in French in 1978 and has ever since been a cornerstone of Cezanne studies. Doran, formerly librarian at London's distinguished Courtauld Institute, is also a painter, which may have helped him choose the most vivid contemporary reminiscences of the mysterious French artist. Generally thought to have been closemouthed, Cezanne on the contrary turns out to be almost garrulous in these excerpts from contemporary memoirs and other documents. Statements range from homey details, such as that his favorite food was "potatoes with oil" and his favorite musician Weber, to sober proclamations about art: "Render nature with the cylinder, the sphere, and the cone, arranged in perspective so that each side of an object or of a plane is directed toward a central point." While Cezanne rejects what he calls "literary" painting (painting that migrates too far from visual reality), he was much inspired by reading: "I saw a tone of Flaubert, an atmosphere, something indefinable, a bluish and russet color which emanated, it seemed to me, from Madame Bovary." This and many other fascinating observations come from the memoirs of author Joachim Gasquet, criticized by some art historians for possibly reporting Cezanne's words inexactly. Never mind: they ring true, giving the real gist of a personality. So lively and fresh are these impressions that, by contrast, an analytical afterword in typical art historical prose by Lawrence Gowing is a real anticlimax. Better is a cogent biographical preface by scholar Richard Schiff. This book is indispensable reading for anyone passionate about painting. (Apr.) Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Art and Auction
"Cezanne was once prized as an artistic stepping-stone, this collection reinforces his position as a landmark in his own right."


Times Literary Supplement
"The most immediate appeal of the book is the light that it throws on Cezanne's notorious character."


Publishers Weekly
"This book is indispensable reading for anyone passionate about painting."


Book Description
Michael Doran has gathered texts by contemporaries of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906)-including artists, critics, and writers-that illuminate the influential painter's philosophy of art especially in his late years. The book includes historically important essays by a dozen different authors, including Emile Bernard, Joaquim Gasquet, Maurice Denis, and Ambroise Vollard, along with selections from Cézanne's own letters. In addition to the material included in the original French edition of the book, which has also been published in German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese, this edition contains an introduction written especially for it by noted Cézanne scholar Richard Shiff. The book closes with Lawrence Gowing's magisterial essay, "The Logic of Organized Sensations," first published in 1977 and long out of print. Cézanne's work, and the thinking that lay behind it, have been of inestimable importance to the artists who followed him. This gathering of writings will be of enormous interest to artists, writers, art historians-indeed to all students of modern art.


From the Back Cover
"This is an extraordinary book. It not only contains all the accounts written by those who met Cézanne and spoke with him (including several 'interviews' with the painter), but it also puts these accounts in perspective."-Yves-Alain Bois, Harvard University "Doran's collection of diverse primary sources recording Cézanne's theories and the early critical reception of his art is an essential monument in the painter's bibliography, previously not accessible. And Gowing's thoughtful essay serves as a superb model for how such primary material should be consulted."-Mary Tompkins Lewis, author of Cézanne


About the Author
Michael Doran, who is both an art historian and a practicing artist, was formerly the Librarian of the Courtauld Institute in London.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Michael Doran has gathered texts by contemporaries of Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) - including artists, critics, and writers - which illuminate that influential painter's philosophy of art, especially in his late years. The book includes historically important texts by a dozen different authors, including Emile Bernard, Joaquim Gasquet, Maurice Denis, and Ambroise Vollard, along with pithy selections from Cezanne's own letters. In addition to the material included in the original French edition of this book, which has also been published in German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese, this edition opens with an introduction written especially for it by Richard Shiff, and closes with Lawrence Gowing's magisterial essay, "Cezanne: The Logic of Organized Sensations," first published in 1977 and long out of print in English." "Cezanne's work, and the thinking that lay behind it, has been of inestimable importance to the artists who followed him. This gathering of writings will be of great interest to artists, writers, art historians - indeed to all students of modern art."--BOOK JACKET.

SYNOPSIS

Michael Doran has gathered texts by contemporaries of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906)-including artists, critics, and writers-that illuminate the influential painter's philosophy of art especially in his late years. The book includes historically important essays by a dozen different authors, including Emile Bernard, Joaquim Gasquet, Maurice Denis, and Ambroise Vollard, along with selections from Cézanne's own letters.

In addition to the material included in the original French edition of the book, which has also been published in German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese, this edition contains an introduction written especially for it by noted Cézanne scholar Richard Shiff. The book closes with Lawrence Gowing's magisterial essay, "The Logic of Organized Sensations," first published in 1977 and long out of print.

Cézanne's work, and the thinking that lay behind it, have been of inestimable importance to the artists who followed him. This gathering of writings will be of enormous interest to artists, writers, art historians-indeed to all students of modern art.

FROM THE CRITICS

Art and Auction

"While Cezanne was once prized as an artistic stepping-stone, this collection reinforces his position as a landmark in his own right-a Reims Cathedral of art history.

Publishers Weekly