Paul Cezanne's The Abduction

Early in his career French Painter Paul Cezanne was introduced to a famous group of artists that included Manet, Degas and Pissaro. His shy nature and defensiveness inhibited him from becoming close to the group, qualities that were part of his intense personality.

"The awareness of our own strength makes us modest."

-Paul Cezanee (1839 - 1906)

The Abduction, 1867, Paul Cezanne.

In his painting above; Abduction, the motif is rape and murder. The brush strokes and the subject matter reek of dark mystery and intensity held just under his containment. A fire in his soul tormented Cezanne and this comes out in his paintings. The fact that this was painted in 1867 astounds me, the intensity of the brush strokes and vibrancy of the color is something that influenced artists for the next 40 years, and to this day.

Art and Nature

Although tame by today's standards, when the world first saw French painter Paul Cezanne's work, it was met with outrage and mockery. He exhibited in some of the very first impressionist shows, and helped to revolutionize the use of color in painting. Let's take a look at a quote from the man:

"Art runs parallel to Nature"

-Paul Cezanne (1838-1906)

Notice he says art runs parallel to nature. He is not saying that art should be merely a copy nature, he says it runs parallel to nature, the processes involved in creation and the underlying rhythm can be similar to the underlying rhythm in nature, not just a photographic image of it. To me that's what makes the modern era of art so much more exciting than classicism or even the renaissance, the intensity of raw emotion that is seen on a scale never before imagined. Paul Cezanne was definitely a major contributor in freeing up the artist to be able to express more emotion in one's work.