NEZANNE: THE NASAL CEZANNE (REVISED 06/14)

7/27/2019 NEZANNE: THE NASAL CEZANNE (REVISED 06/14)

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THE NASAL CEZANNE


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This document contains notes which have been prepared for a pair of journal

articles exploring the fanciful nasal adornments which are present in Cezannesportraits and figure compositions.

The material for the first paper, an essay which addresses the paintings in the

first two decades of the artists career from eighteen sixty to eighteen eighty

is comprised of excerpts from earlier writings on the subject.

The material for the second paper was recently prepared, and although the

presentation is rudimentary, the discussion is more fully developed, and there

is at least a semblance of a narrative progression.

Links have been provided at the conclusion of each of the entries, and in work-

ing with reproductions at Wikipaintings and at Athenaeum, the reader should

click on the images before enlarging them with the plus key.

(In working with reproductions at the Google Art Project, he or she should em-ploy the diminutive image on the right side or the screen, enlarging with the

plus icon and focusing with the superimposed framing rectangle.)

The prints in the companion document have been produced from digital files

which have been downloaded from the internet, and they will eventually have

to be replaced by details of the heads prepared by the owners of the paintings.

The schematic diagrams in the same collection are intended to indicate the loca-

tions of the phenomena which have been referenced in the text and will assist

the reader in identifying those occasionally fugitive conceptions. (05/14)


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ESSAY ONE


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FIGURE 1. MALE PORTRAIT, 1862-64. 46 X 37 CM. REWALD 073. PRI-

VATE COLLECTION. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

We will commence this discussion of the nasal representations in Cezannes

painting with a portrait of an unidentified man which the artist executed in hisearly twenties, but before turning to and inspecting the subjects nose, we will

take a moment and examine the eye on the right side of the countenance, en-

countering in doing so an excellent example of the painters discursive

inclinations and fanciful enthusiasms. We will find, in fact, that the impartation

of the pupil in the middle of the representation is uncommonly detailed and

involved, and as we contemplate the right side of the image at some further

length, we will discover that it has been converted into the figure of a diminu-

tive male face, the features of which a pair of eyes in the darker inflections

across the upper portion of the form, a sizable nose in the infrajacent arrange-ment of lighter color, and an expressively parted mouth immediately above the

border of the image along its base are eminently visible. As we proceed to

the immediate left, we will even discern the intimation of a second such fanciful


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visage appreciably smaller than its predecessor and apparently accoutered

with a hat in the white of the eye in the corner of the representation, a con-

struction which will alert us to the existence of the visual acuity with which we

will be required to contend when we turn to and address the artists painting inearnest. Inasmuch as the image in the reproduction is significantly larger than

life size, it should be apparent that Cezanne was possessed of an extraordinary

perception, that he was employing some manner of pointed implement in artic-

ulating the likes of these ocular adornments, and in any event, we can expect to

encounter similar fanciful minutiae in the impartations of the eyes in the

vicinity of the nasal organs which we will be addressing in almost all of the

paintings which we will be examining.

Having established the existence of the discursive inclination and the fanciful

enthusiasm which will be of interest to us in the course of our discussion, we

will proceed down and across the picture plane, and we will look to and con-

sider the nose in the middle of the subjects countenance, an image which, as it

turns out, is as nuanced as the ones which we encountered in the representation

of the suprajacent eye. As we examine the highlighted flesh in the middle of

the organ, we will find that there are some horizontal inflections of darker pig-

ment amongst the predominantly lighter color and vertical brushstrokes in that

quarter, and we will discover, as we proceed with our inspection of those in-

gredients, that the upper set of inflections would designate a pair of eyes andthat the remaining, and underlying, punctuation would describe the figure of a

complementary mouth. When we effect a closer inspection of the former set of

ingredients, we will observe that the brushwork is uncommonly detailed and

involved in and about those images, and we will distinguish, in fact, the irises

and the circumscribing whites of the eyes in each of the carefully articulated

representations. As we follow the infrajacent disjunction in the color down the

picture plane, we will encounter the figure of an appropriately highlighted nose

between, and beneath, the inclined pair of eyes, and proceeding lower, we will

identify the image of a sizable mouth, with an ungainly set of protuberant teeth,in the aforeferenced third of the horizontal inflections in which we are interest-

ed. When we effect a more abstracted consideration of the particulars, we will

discern the intimation of a rudimentary headpiece around the bridge of the sub-

jects nose, we will apprehend the suggestion of what would seem to be the top


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of an associated garment perhaps a dress in the arrangement of shadow

along the base of the organ, and we might even distinguish an approximation

of an elevated forearm in the anomalous column of lighter color around the fig-

ure of the females chin.in the Although the conception has been subjected tosome subsequent compromising metamorphoses in what would appear to have

been a protracted exercise of imaginative disportation, the succeeding activity

was sufficiently discreetly imparted that the primary construction has remained

reasonably intact, and we will content ourselves with this limited discussion of

the image for the moment, discerning in the representation some compelling

evidence of the fanciful divertissement in which the artist would indulge in the

painting of his formative years.

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FIGURE 2 MALE FIGURE, C. 1867. 107 X 83 CM. REWALD 120. MUSEU DE

ARTE, SAO PAULO. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

During the course of his sojourns in Paris in the eighteen sixties, Cezanne fre-

quented a studio where he could practice drawing the human figure, and thecharacter in the present canvas was supposed to have been the most popular of

the models who posed at the facility. Inasmuch as the painting is sizable, and

in light of the fact that the image of the head is of modest dimension, the ac-

companying reproduction will prove to be inadequate, and until a detail can be

acquired from the museum which possesses the canvas, we will want to occa-

sionally refer to and to inspect the print in the lower right corner. As we

ponder the representation of the subjects nose endeavoring, of course, to

creatively navigate the obfuscating graininess and pixilation we will en-

counter some intriguing details in and about the lobe along the base of theorgan on the left, and we will discover, as we proceed with our inspection of

the particulars, that the artist has digressed from the objective exercise and in-

troduced the head of a diminutive masculine character in that portion of the


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image. The compartment of illuminated flesh would constitute a reasonable

approximation of a low-crowned and modestly-brimmed hat, and as we turn to

and consider the underlying arrangement of variegated color, we will identify

the eyes, nose and mouth of a complementary visage in the vicinity of the ex-posed nostril. The left side of the image has been depicted, of course, in

shadow, the other side has been described in light from an implied source of

illumination off to the right, and we will discover that the representational ap-

paratus in question imparting the human figure in a variably, and typically

laterally, illuminated manner would be a mechanism which the artist

would employ on numerous occasions in his frequent deviations into fanciful

divertissement. In fact, as we proceed to the immediate left and examine the

detailed brushwork in and about the corner of the mouth, we will encounter the

rudiments of another such whimsical conception, more allusively imparted

than its nasal counterpart, along the base of the upper lip, one of the many such

fanciful interpolations which are present in the representation of the subjects

focal head.

As we withdraw from the reproduction and endeavor to effect a more abstract-

ed consideration of the countenance, we will find that there are some equally

intriguing details in the shadow beneath the eye, a shadow which has obscured,

and ultimately even disfigured, the image of the underlying nose. In fact, theartist has appropriated the crescent of darker color in that quarter and em-

ployed it as what would appear to have been the brim of a rudimentary hat,

and as we look to the infrajacent arrangement of intermediate color, we will en-

counter the eyes, nose, and mouth of an associated masculine countenance, As

we ponder the character of the subordinate construction in the print in the cor-

ner of the reproduction, we will appreciate some of the subtleties of the

representation the poetic evocation of the illumination, for instance, in the

highlights upon the nose and along the margin of the cheek on the right, and

the appealing conformation of a countenance which features a conspicuous,and apparently smiling, mouth along its base and we will recognize the

disparity which exists between the ethoses of the respective objective and sub-

jective representations. Although the subjects in these paintings are typically

devoid of expression and unquestionably, as such, bereft of personality


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it is interesting to encounter intimations of an aesthetic propensity and a predi-

lection for, dare we say it, artistic charm in representations such as the

dexterously imparted countenance across the figure of the models nose. As we

proceed with this investigation of the nasal adornments which are present inCezannes oeuvre, we will find thatthe artist would characteristically adapt

and transform the components around the ophthalmic representations

sometimes, as in the present instance, employing them as rudimentary hats

and that he would embellish the proximate noses with all manner of colorful

secondary constructions, a disportation which would occasionally devolve into

what might accurately be characterized as pyrotechnic displays of fanciful in-

vention.

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FIGURE 3. PORTRAIT HEADS, C. 1870. 71 X 57 CM. REWALD 155. PRI-


In the third of the canvases which we will consider in this sequence, a study of

a pair of heads which Cezanne painted on a wall of the salon in the familyscountry residence in Provence, we will examine another, and unquestionably

more sophisticated, example of the fanciful metamorphoses of the nasal organs

which are present in these youthful pictures. If, in our inspection of the previ-

ous two paintings, we encountered conceptions which featured images of the

human face, we will, in addressing the present canvas , turn to and consider a

representation of the full human figure in these colorful adaptations and

adornments of the subjects focal noses. We will find, as we examine the coun-

tenance of the masculine character on the left, that the artist has converted the

nasal organ into an involved and even convoluted fanciful construction theobjective image has been so disfigured, in fact, that it is only marginally recog-

nizable as a nose and we will take a moment and consider the

characteristics of that secondary conception at some further length. We will, by


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way of introduction, encounter the intimation of a high crowned hat in and

about the bridge of the subjects nose, an accouterment which, as a consequence

of its variably colored complexion, would establish the fact that the source of

illumination is from off to the left side of the figure with which we will concernourselves.

As we look to the infrajacent arrangement of inflected color, we will distinguish

the images of a pair of delicately imparted eyes immediately beneath the brim

of the headpiece, and moving lower, we will identify the figure of a typically

highlighted, and implicitly protuberant, nose in the punctuation of lighter pig-

ment in the middle of the emerging visage. Proceeding further down the

picture plane, we will encounter the intimation of a complementary mouth, fea-

turing a pair of conspicuously parted lips, across the lower half of the

countenance, and as we ponder the conformation of the underlying jaw and

chin, we will appreciate that the character is sporting some manner of modestly

dimensioned beard. Although the individual in question would appear to be a

rustic, the illumination is so nuanced, the features of the visage so delicate, and

the evocation of the form so poetic that the conception would have to be charac-

terized as a sympathetic, if not even a charming, one. We will encounter the

intimations of a pair of upper arms along either side of the infrajacent, and pre-

dominantly obscured, torso a highlighted right arm on the left, and afeatureless left arm in the shadow on the right and we will identify what

would appear to be the forearm and hand of the latter limb across the midsec-

tion of the seated, and unquestionably compacted, character. If that is an

accurate reading of the representation, the forearm and hand in question would

obscure the elbow of the companion limb on the left side of the body, a limb

which would seem to reappear, in the images of a parallel forearm and hand, in

the underlying configuration of lighter color along the base of the subjects

nose.

The inclined column of illuminated flesh around the tip of the nasal organ

might be perceived to represent a portion of a conjoined hip and thigh, and the


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abbreviated compartment of darker color along the back of the proximate lobe

would appear to constitute the figure of a second, and complementary, thigh on

the other side of the compacted form. As we look to and examine the image of

the lower of the pair of forearms along the base of the representation, we willdiscover, moreover, that the diminutive character appears to hold a glass in his

hand and may have been depicted in the act of ingesting some refreshment, an

affectation which has been imparted, of course, with a poetry and with a charm

which have not normally been associated with the artist. Although, in the in-

terest of brevity, we will be ignoring the majority of these sophisticated and

occasionally, yes, convoluted constructions in the course of our introducto-

ry discussion, we should be aware that such conceptions are present in the

images of the noses in the artistsportraits and figure studies and that they con-

stitute some of the more intriguing phenomena which have been couched in the

representations of the subjects focal heads in those paintings.

There are some days, the artist confided to an associate, when it seems to me

that the universe is nothing but a continuous steam, a river of aerial reflections

around the idea of man. The character in the middle of the countenance under

present consideration might be construed to be a portion of that river of aerial

reflections, the figure of an individual in a corner of quiescence and enchant-

ment in an anthropocentric cosmos, with the idea of man writ large andbuoyantly upon the face of a background escarpment.

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FIGURE 4. GUSTAVE BOYER, C. 1870. 46 X 38 CM. REWALD 176. NA-

TIONAL GALLERY OF CANADA, OTTAWA. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

In the present picture, a study of one of the artists youthful associates, a person

of whom Cezanne would paint in a more ambitious portrait at a later juncture(Figure 6), we will consider another of the nasal adornments which are present

in these canvases, and we will, in the process, explore the manner in which the

secondary constructions in these paintings would occasionally be subjected to

subsequent compromising metamorphoses. Recalling the approach which we

employed advantageously in addressing the initial picture in this sequence, we

will take a moment, however, and effect a preliminary inspection of the iris of

the eye on the right side of the countenance. In an effort to facilitate our exami-

nation of the image, we will want to significantly enlarge the reproduction, and

after having done so, we will observe that the contour along the left side of theorb is irregular and that there is an arrangement of darker inflections on the

immediate right, across the interior of the involved and curiously imparted

conception. We will find, of course, that the artist has whimsically adorned the


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image, introducing the figure of a hat along the top of the representation and

delineating the features of a dexterously illuminated male countenance

with a highlighted nose and with a smiling, and dentally inflected, mouth

across its midsection. The diminutive construction is similar to the one whichwe encountered in the aforeferenced seminal portrait, and like its predecessor,

it would indicate the presence of the discursive inclinations and the fanciful en-

thusiasms which continued to animate this art a decade after the execution of

the earlier painting.

As we return the reproduction to its original dimensions and as we look to and

inspect the figure of the subjects highlighted nose, we will encounter the fea-

tures of a casually imparted and loosely conformed male countenance in the

mottled color across the middle of the image, and as we proceed down the pic-

ture plane, we will even discern the suggestion of an elevated left forearm in

the complementary components of the representation across the base of the or-

gan. Recalling the affectation which the artist had employed in decorating the

nose in the previous canvas, we will find, as we ponder the configuration of

lighter color above the figure of the contracted hand, that the character is hold-

ing some manner of illuminated implement, what would appear to be another

glass which has been elevated, appropriately, to the vicinity of his proximate

mouth The ellipses of darker pigment beneath the bridge of the subjects nosewould designate a pair of eyes, the lighter pigment between and below those

ophthalmic images would represent an associated nose, and the muted inflec-

tions of intermediate color further down the picture plane would describe the

figure of a mouth above the image of a substantial, if imperfectly imparted,

chin. As it turns out, the representation has been compromised by some subse-

quent fanciful metamorphoses of the conception accounting, of course, for

the abundance of complicating detail in and about the middle of the counte-

nance and the requirement is to see beyond the successive, and inevitably

obfuscating, draftsmanship to the features of the original construction, a re-quirement which will prove to be more readily accomplished in the present

context than in some of the others which we will shortly be contending.


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The figure would appear to have been equipped, of course, with some manner

of close-fitting hat visible in the crescent of lighter pigment above the fore-

head and across the top of the pate but we will find that the accoutermenthas been obscured the column of lighter pigment which has subsequently been

applied to the representation in the vicinity of the bridge of the nose. As we in-

cline our heads to the right and as we contemplate the arrangement of

intermediate color along the flank of the nasal organ, we will discover, in fact,

that the artist has appropriated the eye in the vertical conception, employed it

in a similar capacity in a diagonal variation, and ultimately evoked the figure of

a comely female face in that quarter of the representation, the disruptive cres-

cent of lighter pigment around the bridge of the subjects nose designating the

brim of an associated headpiece. Although the middle of the countenance in

the tertiary construction has been obscured by an incongruous brushstroke of

intermediate color potentially, of course, applied with the intention of cam-

ouflaging the perhaps too conspicuous image the representation of the

comely female visage remains reasonably accessible and would constitute an

intriguing efflorescence of beauty in an oeuvre which is not customarily associ-

ated with such indulgent phenomena. In any event, despite the presence of the

colorfully disposed masculine character along the vertical axis of the organ and

the existence of the enchanting female visage along its flank, the nose is more

important for indicating the compromises which we will encounter in navi-

gating the multiple layers of fanciful invention in these paintings than it is fordocumenting the artists persisting indulgence in imaginative disportation in

the execution of these canvases.

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FIGURE 5. ALEXIS AND ZOLA, 1869-70. 130 X 160 CM. REWALD 151. MU-

SEU DE ARTE, SAO PAULO. (MUSEUM PHOTO)

Although in each of the previous couple of paintings we encountered adapta-

tions of the noses which were conveniently positioned within the confines ofthose representations, we discovered, in inspecting the study of a seated male

figure in the second canvas in this sequence, that the artist would occasionally

effect more extensive metamorphoses of the nasal images in these pictures. In

an effort to consider an analogous adaptation of the nose in a portrait from his

early thirties and as a means of addressing another of the laterally illumi-

nated constructions which abound in these canvases we will turn to and

examine a study of a pair of Cezannes associates, the individual on the right

the soulful friend with whom he had so touchingly shared his youth in Pro-

vence. As it turns out, the painting is in the collection of the same museum asthe aforementioned study of a seated male model, and the issue which we en-

countered with the fidelity of the reproduction in our perusal of the earlier

picture is one which we will experience again in our inspection of this slightly


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later, and appreciably more sizable, canvas. In light of that fact, we will want to

occasionally refer to and to employ the modestly dimensioned print in the cor-

ner of the reproduction, and we will discover, as we do so, that the artist has

inflected the representation of the ocular orbit on the right side of the subjectscountenance and converted it into the figure of a diagonally aligned, moderate-

ly animated, and colorfully hatted male head. The referenced adornment of the

objective particulars is, of course, representative of the fanciful metamorphoses

and of the cognate imaginative minutiae which are present in these can-

vases, and although we will typically be ignoring such extra-nasal phenomena

in the course of the current discussion, we would do well to be apprised of the

existence of those expressions of fancy in and about the representations of the

subjects focal noses in the artists many portraits and figure compositions.

As we proceed down the picture plane, we will observe that there is a curiously

abrupt disjunction in the color along the margin of the shadow next to the sub-

jects nose, and we will discover that the chromatic dissociation in question

becomes progressively more detailed and involved in and about the lobe of the

nasal organ at its base. As we effect a more abstracted consideration of the par-

ticulars, we will remark, moreover, that the contour along the opposite side of

the columnar arrangement of shadow has been picked up and continued in the

analogous, if less pronounced, disjunction in the color across the middle of thesubjects cheek, the composite linear progression circumscribing an irregular

configuration of variegated pigment beneath the image of the overhead, and

fancifully inflected, eye. In fact, the accents around the base of the bipartite ar-

rangement would describe the figure of a conspicuous mouth, the suprajacent

protrusion in the contour of the lighter color would represent an associated

nose, and the punctuations of darker pigment further up the picture plane,

along either side of the latter image, would designate the eyes of the dexterous-

ly imparted, moderately inclined, and laterally illuminated male countenance.

In the course of our discussion of the earlier study of a seated model, it wascommented that the eye sockets in these representations would occasionally be

employed as hats in the fanciful constructions which we are investigating, and

as we turn to and consider the optical orbit on the right side of the subjects vis-

age, we will discover, in fact, that it would function as precisely such an


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accoutrement along the top of the poetically imparted countenance which we

have identified. If we had the time and the inclination not to mention, of

course, a dedicated photographic detail of the head we could continue with

our inspection of the particulars and proceed to address the kaleidoscopic playof imaginative phenomena which are present in and about the image of the

nose, but we will, in keeping with the limited objectives of this introductory ex-

position, content ourselves with this limited discussion of the representation for

the moment. It will be apparent, of course, that the complementary apparatus-

es of diagonal orientation and lateral illumination would diminish the visibility,

and moderate the disruptive influence, of the likes of these fanciful construc-

tions, even when, as in the present instance, the conceptions in question have

been conspicuously delineated and are uncommonly accessible. When we

pause and reflect upon the modish inclination of the hat on top of the head,

moreover, we will appreciate that there an intimation of personality, even an

incipient elan, in the artists colorful impartation of the image, qualities which

are conspicuously absent from the evocations of the objective phenomena in his

sedulously constructed canvases.

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FIGURE 6. GUSTAVE BOYER, C. 1871. 55 X 39 CM. REWALD 174. METRO-

POLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK. (MUSEUM PHOTO)

In a second portrait of the same youthful associate whom we encountered in

the painting before last, we will find that the noses in these pictures would con-tinue to provide an inviting framework in which for Cezanne to exercise his

fancy, but before addressing that topic in earnest, we will by way of docu-

menting the presence of the discursive inclinations and the fanciful enthusiasms

which continued to inspire his art consider an unusually conspicuous ex-

ample of the incidental phenomena which we have been investigating along the

left side of the subjects head. As we examine the diminutive print in the corner

of the reproduction, enlarging it as necessary, we will encounter the image of a

carefully articulated female countenance immediately beneath the ear, and as

we ponder the relationship of that visage to the proximate configurations oflight and intermediate color, we will discover that the suprajacent aural organ

would function as a headpiece and that the infrajacent flesh upon the neck has

been fashioned into the figures of an attenuated torso and a pair of kneeling


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legs. The ears in these portraits would provide a convenient forum in which for

Cezanne to exercise his fancy, and although we will, of course, be ignoring the

majority of the cognate imaginative conceptions in this discussion the nasal or-

gans in his painting, the kneeling character along the side of the subjects headwould document the existence of the artists discursive inclinations and fanciful

enthusiasms in the conduct of this exercise in portraiture.

As we turn to and consider the subjects nose in the accompanying primary re-

production, we will find that the artist has articulated the figure of another

intriguing fanciful conception in that quarter of the representation, and we will

take a moment and consider the characteristics of that colorful nasal construc-

tion at some modest length We will find, in fact, that there is an elliptical

arrangement of intermediate color in the middle of the organ, and as we inspect

the inflections of darker pigment across the lower two thirds of that configura-

tion, we will identify the figures of a pair of prominent eyes, a highlighted nose,

and a sensitively imparted, and dentally adorned, mouth in that portion of the

representation. The illuminated cheeks will be discerned, moreover, in the cir-

cumscribing compartments of lighter pigment, an ear would appear to have

been delineated along the left side of the visage, and a conically crowned hat

will be distinguished in the darker color immediately above the eyes, the base

of the forehead depicted in the shadow cast by that headpiece. Recalling theaffectations which had been employed in some of the earlier constructions

which we have considered, the underlying striation of darker and lighter colors

might be seen to constitute the elevated forearm and hand of the bust-like char-

acter, the appendage having subsequently been converted, in conjunction with

the contiguous arrangement of lighter color, into the figure of an inclined coun-

tenance around the terminus of the nasal organ. Although the character in

question would appear to be directing some manner of implement toward his

proximately situated mouth a dimension of the representation which is be-

yond the compass of this introductory exposition we will content ourselveswith this abbreviated discussion of the image for the moment, appreciating that

the conception is significantly more accessible than the one which we encoun-

tered in the informal portrait of the same subject in the painting before last.


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collections/435873?rpp=20&pg=1&ao=on&ft=CEZANNE&pos=6
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FIGURE 7. THE ARTISTS WIFE, C. 1872. 22 X 22 CM. REWALD 216. PRI-


As we have observed in inspecting several of the earlier pictures in this se-

quence, the shadows in and about the eyes of the subjects in these canvaseswould frequently be converted into fanciful constructions along the sides of, or

even above, the nasal representations which we are investigating, and in the

present painting, a study of the artistssignificant other suckling their infant

son, we will consider another such ancillary conception which extends onto the

bridge of the females proximate nose. We will want to incline our heads to the

right and to examine the image of the eye on the right side of the countenance,

and as we do so, we will find that the lighter color in the shadow about the base

of the lid would extend the suprajacent arrangement of illuminated flesh, effec-

tively creating lighter and darker halves of a bipartite chromatic configurationin that quarter. We will discover, of course, on further inspection of the particu-

lars, that the accents of darker color along the right, and shaded, portion of the

arrangement would describe the features of a bearded male countenance, the

eyes visible at the top of the configuration and a conspicuous mouth, beneath


23/69

an hirsute upper lip, discernible along its base. The representation is, like so

many others in this oeuvre, laterally illuminated the darker pigment in and

about the base of the eyelid constituting the shaded portion of the image and

the lighter color on the left comprising the highlighted segment of same andalthough the reproduction is unquestionably inferior, we should have little dif-

ficulty in transcending the obfuscating pixilation and in discerning the

suggestion of a casually imparted cap along the top of the inclined head.

During the course of his later twenties and early thirties at approximately

the same time that the study under present consideration was executed

Cezanne introduced repeated images of himself into his paintings, most notably,

of course, in his sequential paraphrases of a contemporarys celebrated compo-

sitions. (In fact, as an extension of the referenced practice, he would appear to

have inserted just such an image of his person, considerably more allusively

imparted than its predecessors, into the corner of a landscape which he submit-

ted for inclusion in the initial Impressionist exhibition, a representation in

which he depicted himself performing a corporal function which was typically

reserved for the water closets of the period.) As it turns out, the distinguish-

ing components of the artists physiognomy were a dark and fulsome beard, a

massive face which featured a prominent forehead and, most importantly, a

conspicuously barren pate, and although the images of himself which he insert-ed into his paintings were imparted with varying degrees of precision, the full

beard, the formidable brow, and the prematurely bald head were the identify-

ing constituents of those personal representations. As we examine the image in

and about the ocular orbit on the right side of the females countenance, we will

find that it would constitute a reasonable approximation of Cezannes distinc-

tive head it is arguably, in fact, a more credible likeness of that head than

many of the others which have been accepted as such in the literature on the

subject and inasmuch as the artist had inserted repeated allusions to himself

into the paintings which he executed during the period, the image may wellhave comprised another reference to his person in an art which had come to

feature a significant autobiographic dimension. Although the identity of the

character in question is not particularly important, we will appreciate, as we

reflect upon the conjectured personal reference, that the constructions which we


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encountered in the earlier canvases could well have contained similarly discreet,

and ultimately obscure, allusions not, of course, necessarily personal in

character a subject which, in light of the problems which it would present,

we have prudently chosen to avoid in the course of the foregoing discussion.

http://uploads7.wikipaintings.org/images/paul-cezanne/hortense-breast-

feeding-paul-1872.jpg
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FIGURE 8. SELF PORTRAIT, C. 1875. 53 X 38 CM. REWALD 219. HER-

MITAGE MUSEUM, ST. PETERSBURG. (MUSEUM PHOTO)

As we proceed to the painting of the artists middle thirties, we will turn to and

consider one of the many self portraits which Cezanne executed throughout hiscareer, a representation which possesses more personality than the majority of

the other images of his person and one which, as it turns out, features a delight-

ful example of the colorful nasal constructions which we have been

investigating. We will find, in fact, as we examine the subjects nose, that the

artist has embellished the representation with a carefully articulated, and un-

commonly accessible, fanciful conception, converting the organ into the image

of a buxom female character, the head of which has been adorned with a broad

brimmed and elegantly inclined hat along the top of the construction. The sen-

suously-lipped countenance like so many of its predecessors in thissequence will be found to be laterally illuminated, a complementary neck

and torso will be discerned in the underlying arrangement of intermediate col-

or, and the figures of a pair of elevated hands might even be distinguished in


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the parcels of lighter pigment along either side of the substantial bosom. It is

important for us to appreciate, in pondering the secondary construction, the

poetic character of the conception and the aesthetic quality of its evocation, to

appreciate what we will ultimately recognize to be the striking contrast be-tween the females expressive countenance and the subjects expressionless

visage, a visage which, like its predecessors in the antecedent portraits, will ul-

timately prove to have been a pretext for the efflorescences of fanciful invention

which are present in these paintings. In fact, there is an artistic facility and an

aesthetic propensity which are evident in the conception and which are con-

spicuously absent from the painters impartations of the phenomena of

objective reality, and it is interesting to reflect upon the fact that, as we contem-

plate the character of the comely creature whom we have identified, that we are

encountering for the first time the vibrant human being beneath the mask-like

facade of Cezannes curiously misconstrued artistic persona. The construction

is unusual, of course, because unlike its siblings in the antecedent paintings, it

has not been subjected to the compromising influence of the subsequent fanci-

ful metamorphoses which we would have expected to have encountered, and it

remains, as such, a compelling example of the imaginative divertissement

which we have been investigating in these pages. It is additionally interesting

because it evinces a levity of disposition and even, dare we say it, a poetry

and a charm which have not traditionally been associated with the artist

and which have, on the other hand, consistently found expression in the color-

ful adornments of the noses which we have been considered in the course ofthis introductory discussion.

In the third of the heads which we have addressed in this document one of

a pair of images which were featured in a composition which the artist painted

on a wall of the salon in the familys country residence we encountered the

figure of a seated male character in what seemed to be a remote natural setting,

a gentleman who appeared to be relaxing in what might well have been con-strued to have been a forbidding alpine environment. In the present canvas, we

have encountered, by way of contrast, the bust of a second diminutive character,

a distinctively accoutered female whose inclined countenance evinces a casual

grace and comeliness, an elegant creature who has been depicted in an envi-


27/69

ronment which, in contrast with that of her predecessor, recalls the dappled

pandemonium of a sunlight inflected fluvial setting. Although the pair of con-

structions would initially appear to be curious adornments of the nasal organs

in the representations in which they are ensconced, we would do well to addi-tionally appreciate them as expressions of human sentiment and as vignettes of

human experience in the continuous stream of which we have heard, the

river of aerial reflections around the idea of man, an anthropocentric cosmos

with images of the human species writ large and buoyantly upon the faces of a

background escarpment and of a dappled fluvial bower.

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FIGURE 9. FEMALE PORTRAIT, 1873-74. 11 X 15 CM. REWALD 230.

STAATLICHE MUSEUM BERGGRUEN, BERLIN. (R/M/N PHOTO)

In the present canvas, a painting sketch of an unidentified young woman, we

will consider another example of the nasal adornments which we have been in-vestigating, most recently, of course, in one of the finer portraits from the

artists middle thirties. Recalling the approach which we employed in address-

ing several of the earlier pictures, we will take a moment and consider, by way

of introduction, one of the diminutive fanciful constructions which abound in

the painting. We will discover, in fact, as we inspect the image of the mouth

along the base of the reproduction, that the artist has adapted the representa-

tion and transformed it into the figure of a variably illuminated and

ponderously hatted male head. We will find that the inflections of darker color

between the lips would represent a pair of reductionist eyes, and we will identi-fy the figures of a complementary nose and mouth in the analogous

punctuations of darker pigment along the line of the underlying chromatic dis-

junction. The intermediate color on the left would constitute the shaded half of


29/69

the countenance, the lighter pigment on the right would comprise the high-

lighted segment of same, and the suprajacent arrangement of darker color

would designate the shadow beneath the brim of a sizable hat, the crown of the

headpiece present in the modest projection of intermediate pigment in the mid-dle of the upper lip. Inasmuch as the image in the reproduction is significantly

larger than life size the canvas is, in fact, a mere five-by-six inches we

will appreciate that the construction in question is of uncommonly modest di-

mension, indicating, once again, that the painter was accustomed to expressing

his fancy in something approaching a proto-microscopic manner. In fact, it is

evident that Cezanne was possessed of an extraordinary vision and that, in the

interest of exercising that singular optical faculty, he had employed some man-

ner of pointed implement in articulating the likes of the fanciful construction

which we have identified.

Having documented the existence of the discursive inclination and the fanciful

enthusiasm which had animated the painter in executing at least a portion of

the present canvas, we will want to withdraw from the representation in-

deed, we may find that it is advantageous to reduce the dimensions of the

reproduction and to incline our heads and to consider the mottled color be-

tween the tip of the nose on the left and the base of the eye on the right side of

the countenance. As we do so, we should have little problem in apprehendingthe diagonally aligned and allusively imparted image of a sizable male pate in

that quarter of the representation, a construction which, like several of its pre-

decessors in this sequence, is laterally illuminated and dexterously accoutered

with a hat through the agency of the proximate ophthalmic orbit. The inflec-

tions of intermediate pigment beneath the referenced headpiece would

represent, in fact, a pair of conspicuous eyes, and the peculiar crease in the flesh

around the tip of the nose would designate what would appear to be an equally

prominent mouth, an image which dissolves into insignificance in the apparent-

ly intense illumination from off to the right of, and ultimately beneath, thediagonally aligned conception. The rudimentary construction might be per-

ceived to establish the existence of a curious ethos at the core of Cezannes

painting an ethos which we have compared, of course, to the imprecision

and allusiveness of oriental art and one which is prominently on display in the


30/69

emergence of the subjects formfrom the circumscribing compartments of un-

painted canvas and this will not, in fact, be the final time that we encounter

such fragmentary, light-effaced conceptions in addressing the fanciful adorn-

ments of the noses in these paintings. In light of the cursory, even summary,manner in which the majority of the painting has been executed, it is curious to

encounter a construction which has been imparted with solicitude and preci-

sion in the midst of such artistic recklessness, and when we are fully apprised

of the character of this multifaceted art, we will realize that the objective repre-

sentations in these canvases are little more than platforms for the successive

deviations into, and immoderate indulgences of, fancy and imagination.

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FBE
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FIGURE 10. SELF PORTRAIT, C. 1875. 64 X 53 CM. REWALD 182. MUSEE

DORSAY, PARIS. (ATHENAEUMPHOTO)

On occasion, we will encounter an uncommon facility in the impartation of the

fanciful phenomena which we are investigating and an unmistakable felicity inthe character of those secondary constructions, and as we turn to and examine

another self portrait from Cezannes middle thirties, wewill have an opportuni-

ty to consider one such exemplary nasal conception. We have observed that the

faces and figures which we have been addressing have frequently been defined

in relation to lateral sources of illumination resulting, of course, in lighter

and darker halves of the forms and in inspecting the image of the subjects

focal nose, we will encounter another, and arguably more intriguing, example

of those chromatically sophisticated fanciful constructions. As something of an

introduction to the conceptual apparatus with which we will concern ourselves and recalling the incremental approach which we employed in addressing

the preceding painting we will commence our inspection of the likeness by

initially examining the representation of the eye on the right side of the counte-


32/69

nance. We will find that there is, in fact, a curious line which bisects the config-

uration of lighter color on the right side of the organ, and as we incline our

heads and contemplate the image along the axis of the opposite diagonal, we

will begin to appreciate the rationale for the presence of that line in the repre-sentation. In fact, the lighter color in the corner would designate the collar of a

foreground garment, the arrangement of more subdued pigment further up the

picture plane would represent the highlighted portion of a countenance, and

the inflections of darker color across the image of the adjacent iris would de-

scribe the eyes, nose and mouth of the laterally illuminated construction. It is

interesting to observe that, in typical fashion, the artist has highlighted the tip

of the nose, and in any event, as we turn to and consider the suprajacent punc-

tuations of darker pigment, we will find that the crescent along the top of the

eye would represent the brim of a sizable hat and that the contiguous arrange-

ment of darker color would designate the crown of that same headpiece.

As we proceed to the immediate left and as we examine the image of the sub-

jects nose, we will encounter a similarly sophisticated and arguably, it

would seem, analogously camouflaged conception in that quarter of the

representation. We will discover, in fact, in inspecting the shadow upon the

right side of the organ, that the artist has introduced some inflections which

would represent the eyes, nose and mouth of another male countenance theprotruding tip of the nose, incidentally, perfunctorily highlighted once again

and when we turn to and consider the suprajacent arrangement of intermediate

color, we will identify the rudiments of a sizable, if loosely conformed, hat on

top of the elongated pate. Inasmuch as the headpiece extends beyond the com-

pass of the columnar shadow in which we have discerned the indicated facial

features, we will realize that the contiguous arrangement of lighter color along

the flank of the nose would constitute the highlighted portion of the counte-

nance, and we will recognize, of course, that the objective representation has

been fashioned into the figure of another handsomely hatted and variably illu-minated fanciful construction in the middle of the subjects face. In several of

the earlier constructions which we have considered, we encountered the intima-

tions of some complementary torsos and limbs beneath the figures of the focal

countenances, and as we turn to and inspect the convoluted representation


33/69

around the tip of the subjects nose, we will find that the light and intermediate

color in that quarter may have been converted into the images of a foreshort-

ened forearm and hand in front of an obscured shoulder on the left. Although

the conception is not nearly as charming and poetic as the one which we en-countered in the self portrait in the painting before last, the laterally illuminated

construction would indicate the character of the increasingly sophisticated phe-

nomena with which we will concern ourselves in the succeeding pictures, and

we will content ourselves with this limited discussion of the fanciful construc-

tion, and of the canvas in which it is embedded, for the moment.

http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/full.php?ID=6055
http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/full.php?ID=6055http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/full.php?ID=6055http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/full.php?ID=6055


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FIGURE 11. MALE BATHER, 1877-78. 73 X 60 CM. REWALD 370. PRIVATE

COLLECTION. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

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outstreched-arms.jpg
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FIGURE 12. SELF PORTRAIT, 1878-79. 34 X 26 CM. REWALD 384. MUSEUM

OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK. (GOOGLE A/P PHOTO)

https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/asset-viewer/self-portrait-in-a-straw-

hat/GAEYFkKAWbLbpA?projectId=art-project
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36/69

ESSAY TWO


37/69

FIGURE 1. SELF PORTRAIT, 1879-80. 34 X 25 CM. REWALD 416. OSKAR

REINHART FOUNDATION, WINTERTHUR. (ATHENAEUM PHOTO)

In the initial picture which we will consider in this second paper a paintingwhich is one of more familiar portraits in the work of the artists forties we

will encounter another of the colorful adornments of the noses which are pre-

sent in Cezannes oeuvre, and as we ponder thecharacteristics of the

subordinate construction which we will identify, we will appreciate that it is a

transparent example of the fanciful activity which we occupied ourselves in the

antecedent paper. The highlighted flank of the nose, along the left side of the

organ, is the portion of the representation which will interest to us, and as we

inspect the heavily textured paint in that area, we should have little problem in

apprehending the moderately inclined, typically hatted, and laterally illuminat-ed masculine head which has been delineated in that quarter. We will find, in

fact, that there are a pair of carefully articulated eyes along either side of the

chromatic disjunction in the middle of the arrangement, we will encounter the


38/69

figure of a conspicuous nose in the anomalous inflection of lighter pigment on

the left side of that disjunction, and moving lower, we will identify the image of

a complementary mouth in the angled punctuation of intermediate color across

the base of the polygonal configuration The right side of the countenance is, ofcourse, illuminated, the left side is immersed in shadow, and as we turn to and

consider some of the circumscribing partitions of color, we will identify what

would appear to be the sizable collar of a garment at the base of the arrange-

ment and the figure of a low-crowned hat on top of the inclined head at its

vertex. In fact, in light of the presence of the distinctive accouterments, the

character in question may have been intended to represent a courtier from an

earlier epoch, although, if that were indeed the case, the rationale for such a cu-

rious allusion would unquestionably remain obscure. In several of the

paintings which we considered in the initial paper in this sequence, we encoun-

tered foreground arms along the bases of the bust-like constructions which we

identified, and when we inspect the present conception with those precedents

in mind, we will appreciate that the circumscribed arrangement of darker color

in front of the chin would represent an elevated hand, as though the character

were about to introduce some food into his proximately situated mouth. How-

soever we care to conceive of the latter component of the conceit, the head has

not been subjected to the subsequent compromising metamorphoses which we

have occasionally encountered in these secondary constructions, the image is

reasonably intact and accessible as a consequence, and it is, as such, an appro-

priate point of departure for us as we prepare to examine the accomplishedwork of the artists maturity.

http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/full.php?ID=6119
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FIGURE 2. SELF PORTRAIT, 1880-81. 34 X 26 CM. REWALD 482. NATION-

AL GALLERY, LONDON. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

Although we have focused primarily upon representations of the human face inthe artists adornments of the noses in his portraits and figure studies, we

should be aware that those interpolations would occasionally feature images of

the full human figure witness, for instance, the seated drinker on the nose

of a mural head in the antecedent paper and in an effort to consider an ex-

ample of another such conception, we will look to and examine a familiar self

portrait from Cezannes middle years. We will want to focus upon the bridge

of the subjects nose and especially, and more specifically, upon the lighter

color on the left side of that organ and as we do so, inclining our heads to

the left, we will identify the figures of a casually imparted and loosely con-formed hat on the top of the arrangement and the intimation of what might be

perceived to be an elevated forearm and hand in the columnar arrangement of

lighter color further down the picture plane. When we examine the area be-


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tween the remarked pair of components, we will apprehend the features of a

laterally illuminated male countenance, the eyes of which are visible in the in-

flections of darker pigment beneath the brim of the headpiece and the mouth of

which is discernible in the analogous inflection of color above the figures ofwhat we have tentatively characterized as the underlying forearm and hand.

We will even discover, in inspecting the accents of lighter pigment above and

beneath the latter representation, that the individual in question is holding

some manner of implement in his hand perhaps a glass and may, as

such, have been depicted in the act of drinking, although the precise nature of

the activity in which he is engaged will remain open to speculation. Whatever

the precise character of the anecdotal dimension of the conception, we will find,

proceeding down the picture plane, that there are a pair of curious projections

of lighter color above the terminus of the subjects nose, and when we look to

and consider the area between the inclined countenance about the bridge and

the referenced oscillations of lighter pigment around the tip, we will identify

the intimations of a casually imparted torso and a pair of kneeling legs beneath

the focal image of the head.

Howsoever we care to conceive of the latter components of the representation,

the dimensions of the inclined visage would seem to suggest that it is an exten-

sion of the underlying configuration of analogous color, and if that were indeedthe case, the aforeferenced interpretation of the conception may well be an ac-

curate one. If we had the time and the inclination, we could proceed with our

inspection of the particulars, and we would find, of course, that the artist has

effected a subsequent metamorphosis of the image along the base of the in-

clined countenance and introduced a second head vertically aligned,

laterally illuminated and the features of which have been imparted by the in-

flections of darker pigment along the margin of the antecedent visage on

top of the perfunctorily imparted torso and legs. (The anomalous punctuation

of darker pigment in that quarter would indicate, incidentally, the location ofthe mouth in the tertiary countenance, an orifice which has been circumscribed

by what would appear to be a sizable moustache across the lower half of the

conception.) The latter representation, modestly proportioned and ponderous-

ly hatted, is what could only be described as a diaphanous construction, it


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embodies a rarefication which characterizes the images in these canvases in

their more obscure dimensions, macroscopic or microscopic, and inasmuch as

the reproduction with which we are working is significantly larger than life size,

it might be seen to confirm the existence of the remarkable perceptual acuitywith which we are being required to contend and to corroborate the earlier con-

tention that the paint was being applied in such circumstances with some

manner of pointed implement.

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FIGURE 3. FEMALE BATHERS, C. 1885. 65 X 65 CM. REWALD 554. KUN-

STMUSEUM BASEL. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

In the present canvas, we will turn to and consider one of the more familiarbathing compositions in the work of the artists forties a picture which, like

several of its predecessors in this sequence, might legitimately be characterized

as one of the iconic paintings in Western art of the previous two centuries

and we will, in perusing the curiously proportioned composition, consider

some intriguing adaptations of the countenance of the seated character in the

middle of the compressed picture space. We will find, in fact, as we inspect the

mosaic of lighter and darker colors between the bridge of the nose and the eye

on the right, that the artist has described the figure of an animated and intri-

guingly illuminated male countenance in that quarter of the representation. Aswe proceed down and across the picture plane, we will identify a more sizable,

and arguably more interesting, embellishment of the femalesnose in and about

its terminus, a construction with which, mindful of the colorful conceptions


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which we encountered in the pictures in the initial paper in this sequence, we

will momentarily endeavor to occupy ourselves. We will discover, in fact, that

the shadow along the side of the nose above, in and around, and ultimately

beneath the eye on the left side of the countenance resembles a casuallyconformed and substantially crowned hat, and moving lower, we will appre-

hend the features of a complementary visage in and about the tip of the

subjectsproximately situated nose. The inflections of darker pigment immedi-

ately beneath the brim of the headpiece would designate a pair of eyes, the

contour along the border of the underlying configuration of lighter color would

describe the outline along the crest of a nose, and the shadow about the base of

the latter organ would constitute a mustachioed upper lip and goateed chin

around the figure of an illuminated mouth. Although the reproduction is un-

fortunately inferior, we will find if we are successful in creatively

navigating the compromising pixilation that the construction is reasonably

accessible, and while, in and of itself, it is of only modest significance, its pres-

ence in a composition which is, as has been intimated, among the iconic

paintings of Western art of the previous two centuries, at the very least, inter-

esting.

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FIGURE 4. THE ARTISTS WIFE, 1888-90. 90 X 72 CM. REWALD 683.

BARNES FOUNDATION, PHILADELPHIA. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

In addressing a self portrait from the artists middle thirtiesin the initial paperin this sequence, we discovered that Cezanne had adorned the subjects nose

with the figure of a laterally illuminated secondary character, and as we turn to

and consider a portrait of the artists wife, a likeness which was executed about

a decade and a half later, we will encounter a similarly configured, if decidedly

more loosely constituted, fanciful construction. In the earlier painting, we iden-

tified the features of the secondary countenance in the shadow along the right

side of the subjects nose, and as we examine the corresponding portion of the

present image with that precedent in mind, we will discover that the represen-

tation of the shadow is unusually detailed and involved, particularly along thelower half of the columnar chromatic configuration. In fact, as we continue to

examine the brushwork in that quarter, we will have little problem in appre-

hending the hatted head and the inclined countenance of another laterally


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illuminated masculine character, an image which dissolves into insignificance,

of course, on the left, and light effaced, side of the casually imparted representa-

tion.

The projection in the shadow across from the crook in the nose and beneath the

image of the suprajacent eye would designate the projecting brim of a hat, and

the contour along the back of that accoutrement will be discerned in the chro-

matic disjunction on the other, and illuminated, side of the nasal organ. As we

proceed down the picture plane, we will encounter a couple of incongruously

highlighted eyelids in the crescents of lighter color in the middle of the colum-

nar arrangement, and we will discover, of course, that the underlying

punctuations of darker pigment would represent a pair of complementary, and

uncommonly conspicuous, eyes. Although the integrity of the infrajacent nose

would appear to have been compromised by some subsequent fanciful activity,

the mouth will be discerned in the horizontal line of darker pigment across

from the lobe around the base of the nasal image. The underlying portion of

the shadow would constitute the extended chin of the pleasantly miened char-

acter, and the intermediate color on the other side of the organ might be seen to

designate the top of an associated shoulder, although the latter image is not

particularly well developed nor an especially important component of the im-

petuously imparted representation. If the construction which we encounteredin the earlier self portrait was an adornment of an existing representation, the

conception in the present canvas would seem to suggest that these fanciful in-

terpolations would occasionally emerge as an integral component of, and a

parallel stratum of activity, in the development of the objective representations

themselves. In any event, the subordinate character whom we have identified

would indicate, if it werentalready apparent, that the discursive propensity

and the fanciful activity which we have been investigating in this oeuvre would

play a prominent role in the painting of the artists maturity, currently under

consideration.


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FIGURE 5. MALE FIGURE, 1888-90. 92 X 73 CM. REWALD 659. NATIONAL

GALLERY, WASHINGTON. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

In imparting the shadows about the eye sockets of the human visages which wehave been investigating, the artist would occasionally encroach upon the imag-

es of the proximately situated noses, and in a study of his significant other

nursing their infant son a picture which we examined, of course, in the ini-

tial paper in this sequence we considered an example of one such discursive,

and ultimately disruptive, conception. In an effort to address another in the

painting of Cezannes maturity, we will turn to and consider a representation of

distinctively attired young man, one of a series of likenesses of the gentleman

which the artist executed during his later forties. Inasmuch as we have been

focusing upon, and confining our discussion to, the figures of the subjects nos-es in these paintings, we have ignored the fact that Cezanne was routinely

transforming the proximate eyes into secondary fanciful constructions, and we
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will look to and consider, by way of introduction to the present discussion, an

example of one such ophthalmic metamorphosis.

We will want to examine the figure of the curiously imparted eye on the right

side of the countenance, and as we do so, we will find, in fact, that the artist has

converted the representation into the image of a laterally illuminated male head,

the anomalously highlighted eye sockets, nose, and dentally adorned mouth

visible on the shaded half of the visage. The crescent of darker pigment be-

tween the infrajacent eye and the suprajacent lid would designate the brim of a

complementary headpiece, and the crown of that same casually imparted, and

poetically conformed, accoutrement will be discerned in the inclined compart-

ment of intermediate further up the picture plane. The implied source of

illumination is, of course, from off to the left side of the figure, the variably en-

lightened conception is typical of the secondary constructions which we have

encountered in this oeuvre, and the representational obliquity arguably, as

has earlier been intimated, oriental in character is typical of the allusive im-

partations of form in these imaginative adaptations of the objective images.

As we incline our heads to the right and proceed to the left side of that modest-ly dimensioned construction, we will identify a more sizable and colorful

example of the artists fanciful divertissement in and about the shadow along

the bridge of the subjects nose. In fact, the undulating, and delicately articulat-

ed, outline around the top of that amorphous arrangement would describe the

contour about the border of a cheek, and we will identify, as we proceed with

our inspection of the particulars, a complementary set of eyes, a pug nose, and

the figure of an associated mouth in the inflections of darker pigment on the

right side of that involved outline. Although the conception is similar to the

ones which we encountered in the earlier study of a nursing mother, the paint issignificantly thinner, and decidedly less opaque, in the present canvas, and the

conception is, as a consequence, appreciably more accessible than its predeces-

sors. The delicacy of the brushwork or better, perhaps, pointed implement-

work is simply stunning, and inasmuch as the representation is significant-


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ly larger than life size, the locus of the referenced fanciful activity is something

approaching, at least figuratively speaking, microscopic in quality and charac-

ter.

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FIGURE 6 . THE ARTISTS WIFE, 1888-90. 89 X 70 CM. REWALD 652. MU-

SEU DE ARTE, SAO PAULO. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

In the painting before last, an impetuously executed portrait of the artists long-

time companion, we encountered the bust of a masculine character in the

shadow along the right side of the nose, although the subjects countenance was

casually imparted and the fanciful adornment of the nasal image may have

seemed to have been of limited significance as a consequence. As a means of

providing an example of a similar such conception in a more commendably ex-

ecuted portrait of the same female character one in which the orientation of

the head has been modified, and the shadow is on the other side of the nasal

image in the middle of the sitters visage we will turn to and consider a se-cond portrait of the artists spouse in the painting of his later forties. Paralleling

the approach which we employed in inspecting the earlier portrait, we will

want to focus upon the involved brushwork across the lower half of the nasal


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protuberance, and as we do so, we will find that, interestingly, there are a pair

of conspicuous lines of darker pigment along either side of the spine of the nose

an undulating one in the highlight on the right and a more linear one in the

shadow on the left side of the representation.

As we look to and consider the columnar striation of lighter color between the

referenced pair of lines, we will identify the figures of a couple of carefully ar-

ticulated and diagonally aligned eyes near the center of the subjects nose, and

as we proceed down the picture plane, we will encounter the intimation of a

complementary mouth in the anomalous line beneath and along the side of the

nostril on the left side of the organ. Although the chin of the casually imparted

construction is indistinct, we will find that the forehead is visible in the modest

compartment of lighter color above the figures of the inclined eyes, and we

might even discern the suggestion of a rudimentary headpiece in the arrange-

ment of subdued color around the suprajacent bridge of the nose. The

representation is, of course, significantly larger than the corresponding concep-

tion which we identified in the earlier study of the same subject, and although

the draftsmanship is discreet and commendably circumspect, the image in

question is arguably more conspicuous and accessible than its impetuously im-

parted precursor.

As we proceed further down the picture plane, following the irregular column

of shadow in the center of the subjects countenance, we will encounter another

such fanciful image clearly more prominent and unquestionably more con-

spicuous in the subdued color along the side of, and ultimately even

beneath, the figure of the infrajacent mouth. In fact, one eye will be discerned

in the corner of the intriguingly abbreviated oral representation, another will be

identified in the corresponding punctuation of darker pigment on the left, andthe spine of the associated, and appropriately highlighted, nose will be distin-

guished in the anomalous striation of lighter color between the referenced pair

of ophthalmic images. As we proceed lower still, we will encounter the figure

of a complementary mouth in the accent of darker pigment beneath the sub-


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jects lower lip, and as we ponder the characteristics of the conception, we will

appreciate that the tertiary visage has been depicted in something approaching

three quarter profile. If we were so inclined, we could proceed to the immedi-

ate right and continue with our inspection of the particulars, and we woulddiscover, of course, that the right side of the representation has been appropri-

ated and employed as the shaded half of a quaternary image in that quarter, a

diagonally aligned, laterally illuminated, and ponderously hatted male head in,

about, and ultimately beneath the corner of the subjects lower lip. The second-

ary constructions in question might be seen to indicate the density of fanciful

invention which is present in these paintings, and although the latter pair of

representations are oral rather than nasal, they might be perceived to adum-

brate the presence of the kaleidoscopic play of form with which we will

eventually be required to contend in addressing these intriguingly constituted

canvases.

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FIGURE 7. CARD PLAYERS, 1890-92. 65 X 81 CM. REWALD 707. METRO-

POLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK. (WIKI/PAINTINGS PHOTO)

In the present painting, a study of several card players and a picture which isone of the more esteemed canvases in Cezannes extensive oeuvre, we will fo-

cus upon and confine our discussion to the head of the profiled character on

the right side of the composition. Although we are investigating the nasal

adornments which are present in these paintings, we will take a moment and

consider, by way of introduction to the fanciful activity which permeates the

representation, the highlighted arrangement of flesh on the right side of the

profiled visage, an area in which we will encounter a mosaic of inflections

which have been imparted with what might accurately be characterized as a

jewelers precision. As we rotate our heads to the right and consider the refer-enced arrangement along the axis of the inclined contour along the base of the

coiffure, we will find, in fact, that the inflections in question would designate

the features of a horizontal fanciful countenance in that quarter, one which


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would appear to have been accoutered with the proximately situated ear as a

headpiece and an improvisation which was presumably inspired by the pro-

spect of employing precisely such an

NEZANNE: THE NASAL CEZANNE (REVISED 06/14)

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