1951.44 Paul Cézanne, Self Portrait Before an Easel | DMA Staging Content Management System

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

In this lithograph, Paul Cézanne portrays himself with the markers of his trade, including a painter’s beret and canvas. Here, however, the artist ironically replaces the lithographic stone with the easel. Lithography would have been an appealing printmaking technique for Cézanne, who was primarily a painter and otherwise not largely invested in prints as part of his artistic practice. This is due to lithography’s nature as a collaborative process, requiring both the artist and a printer familiar with the technique to produce the final work.

Art dealer Ambroise Vollard commissioned Cézanne to create three lithographs for his L’Album des peintures-graveurs (The Album of Painter-Engravers), including this self-portrait. The album was printed by Auguste Clot, Vollard’s in-house printer, who played a key role in the production of prints within the Impressionist movement.

Excerpt from

Amy Wojciechowski, DMA label copy, 2017.

NOTES

Created 1898-1900

Could not confirm geography more specifically.

Catalogue essays

Artist/designers

Cézanne, Paul (French, 1839-1906)

Cultures

Geography

Place of origin: France (nation): TGN: 1000070

Process/materials

Lithography

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York~Read a biography of Paul Cézanne.
National Portrait Gallery, London~View several self portraits by Cézanne in this blog post from the National Portrait Gallery.

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 1951.44

General Description

In this lithograph, Paul Cézanne portrays himself with the markers of his trade, including a painter’s beret and canvas. Here, however, the artist ironically replaces the lithographic stone with the easel. Lithography would have been an appealing printmaking technique for Cézanne, who was primarily a painter and otherwise not largely invested in prints as part of his artistic practice. This is due to lithography’s nature as a collaborative process, requiring both the artist and a printer familiar with the technique to produce the final work.