Paul Cezanne

In keeping with the thoughts mentioned below, I thought I would discuss Cezanne, from my point of view. Being considered the father of modern art may have some artists thinking of Cezanne as overrated, and therefore written off as more of hype than substance. We all have our favorite artists, and my list grows continuously, but I always seem to come back to Cezanne.

It is Cezanne's later works from which I have gained the most insight into his "genius." But it wasn't until I read "Cezanne's Compostition," by Erle Loran, that I truly realized what Cezanne was doing, and doing well. Cezanne was able to manipulate space in a new and revolutionary way. It is this space that he created, that keeps me coming back, as well as his ability to "direct" a viewer. It is like he is almost telling our eyes, in some instances, how to view his world.

I could really never do this conversation justice by trying to explain what I am seeing, so I strongly recommend getting the book by Loran. There is also a limited preview on Google books at: http://books.google.com/books?id=0owOFFLVLqEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cezzanes+composition&ei=y-FRS96zIomuzQTw6I2WDA&cd=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false. The book contains plenty of illustrations showing just how Cezanne exaggerated certain things to force the eye certain ways, or create a tension between objects. There are also pictures of the actual motif he was painting from, compared to his painting of it. For instance, Cezanne would set up still lives with every object having a certain function to the picture as a whole. He was able to tilt things just enough by lifting them with coins, to get that bit of tension between objects that would force space in his way.

No matter what your opinion is of Cezanne, and whether you feel he is overrated or not, there is something for any painter to be learned from his works. It may not all be clear at first, but with real study and, of course, the book mentioned here, Cezanne can help any painter to understand the possibilities of composition. Every painter has to think of composition at some point in a painting, and one must realize the many opportunities there exists to create space. To me, space is a vital component of painting, and Cezanne did this in a brilliant way. Most artists have already discovered Cezanne, and his composition, so this is more of a plea to those who haven't to really study what he was doing. It can only help to create better work in the long run.