Paul Cézanne — 5 Solitary Pleasures

1. 1. After his father's death in 1886, Cézanne became financially independent and pursued art with complete freedom, leading to a more expansive and ebullient style.
2. 2. Cézanne's solitariness became integral to his art, though he was not a complete recluse; he discouraged visitors and mostly kept to himself.
3. 3. Cézanne's life was dominated by a daily routine of painting, which he considered the only refuge for peace of mind.
4. 4. Still-life painting became the central genre for Cézanne, allowing him to express his artistic personality and sublimated desires.
5. 5. Cézanne's still-lifes featured rustic, artisanal objects from Provence, reflecting a disappearing country way of life.
6. 6. Cézanne's studio at Les Lauves was austere and simple, contrasting with the opulent studios of successful Parisian artists.
7. 7. Cézanne's distortions of perspective in still-lifes were intentional, aiming to remain faithful to natural vision and avoid the 'photographic eye'.
8. 8. For Merleau-Ponty, Cézanne's painting was a phenomenological investigation into the process of perception, capturing the 'carnality of vision'.
9. 9. Cézanne's still-lifes reveal the tension between fidelity to optical sensation and the need for compositional harmony, often requiring artifice.