00:00Welcome to Great Art. For the past few years, we've been filming in the biggest exhibitions, art galleries and museums in the world, exploring some of the greatest artists and art in history.
00:10Not only do we record landmark shows, but we also secure privileged access behind the scenes. We then use this as a springboard to take a broader look at these extraordinary artists.
00:20When we heard that three great galleries, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the National Portrait Gallery in London and the National Gallery in Washington DC were planning the first ever exhibition entirely focused on portraits by Cézanne, we thought this was an opportunity too good to miss.
00:36CĂ©zanne, considered among the greatest of all artists, is best known for his landscapes and still lives, but just as important to him were his many portraits and self-portraits.
00:45Through them, one has remarkable access both to his life story and the development of his art.
00:51Naturally, the show in all three locations was a smash hit, but if you missed it, you may never see its like again, except here in this latest film from Great Art.
01:15The
01:31My age and my health will never allow me to realize the artistic dream I have pursued all my life.
01:55But I shall always be grateful to the audience of intelligent art lovers
01:59who have sensed what I was trying to do to renew my art, in spite of my halting attempts.
02:09In my opinion, one does not replace the past, one only adds a new link.
02:16With painters temperament and an artistic ideal, that is to say a conception of nature,
02:23there should be sufficient means of expression to be intelligible to the general public
02:29and to occupy a suitable rank in the history of art.
02:35Paul CĂ©zanne
02:37And I'll see you next time.
06:07de CĂ©zanne, ses doutes, le parcours artistique de l'homme apparaĂźt.
06:37Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
07:07Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
07:37Sous-titrage Société Radio-Canada
08:07Alas, I took the tortuous path of law.
08:11I took is not the word.
08:13I was forced to take law, horrible law, with all equivocations.
08:19It will make my life a misery for three years.
08:23Have pity on me, an unhappy mortal.
08:26CĂ©zanne et Zola vont se rencontrer au CollĂšge Bourbon, qui est le seul collĂšge.
08:56De l'époque, ils vont se lier d'une profonde, trÚs grande amitié.
09:01Et cette amitié va déboucher assez vite sur le désir de devenir artiste, créateur.
09:08Ils vont beaucoup parler de poésie, beaucoup parler de littérature.
09:12Cézanne et Zola ont eu une belle jeunesse, une jeunesse qui les a marquées pour toute leur vie.
09:21Paris, 3rd of March, 1861.
09:27You pose an odd question.
09:34Of course, one can work here, as anywhere, given the willpower.
09:39Moreover, Paris has something you can't find anywhere else.
09:43Museums in which you can study from the masters from 11 till 4.
09:48Here is how you could organise your time.
09:52From 6 to 11, you'll go to the studio and paint from the live model.
09:57You'll have lunch.
09:58Then, from midday till 4, you'll copy the masterpiece of your choice, either in the Louvre or in the Luxembourg.
10:05That will make nine hours of work.
10:08I think that's enough.
10:10And with such a regime, it won't be long before you do something good.
10:13You see, that leaves us all evening free, and we can do whatever we like, without impinging at all on our studies.
10:22Then on Sundays, we'll take off and go to some places around Paris.
10:27There are some charming spots.
10:29And if so moved, you can knock off a little canvas of the trees under which we'll have lunched.
10:35As for the question of money, it's true that your allowance of 125 francs a month won't allow you any great luxury.
10:42But you'll have enough to get by.
10:48Paris, August 1861.
10:52We've been together six hours today.
10:55Our meeting place is Paul's little room.
10:58There, he's doing my portrait, during which time I read or we chat together.
11:04Paul paints on relentlessly.
11:07The slightest obstacle sends him into despair.
11:09CĂ©zanne is very often returned to Provence.
11:15It's the image of the Provence at Paris at the time of Paris was that of a country where it was a country where it was a country that was not yet socialized.
11:24And there was no place where it was a country where it was a country that was a country that was not really good for us.
11:29He was the most intelligent, the most literate, the most cultivated of his time.
11:36He could write verses in Latin, he knew SĂ©nĂšque, Virgile,
11:41he knew Latin poetry, he knew Tacite, etc.
11:44Very often, when you read art books,
11:49I think they are quite reductive compared to CĂ©zanne.
11:55We made a rather aggressive,
11:59cholereux, solitary, etc.
12:02But it wasn't true, because there was another facet of CĂ©zanne,
12:07which was joyous man, who liked music,
12:10who liked to sing, who liked to write poems,
12:14or who claimed poems with friends.
12:17However, when he worked, it was a bit monastic,
12:20he needed to be alone, he needed to reflect,
12:23and worked slowly.
12:25For him, he told us,
12:27by Vollard or others,
12:29that before putting a touch,
12:32he was very anxious,
12:34because it could completely transform his painting.
12:39The Jaste Bouffant was the 18th century,
12:57which was built for the military governor of the place d'Aix.
13:02The PĂšre CĂ©zanne bought this to the family,
13:05and they are in debt,
13:07and the PĂšre CĂ©zanne bought it in 1859.
13:12It will become an winter residence residence.
13:18For CĂ©zanne, it's a painting space,
13:21but he is often in Paris.
13:23When he comes here,
13:26I imagine he is relatively calm,
13:28he is apart,
13:29we leave the Grand Salon.
13:30His father is not there very often.
13:40He will only live in 1870.
13:43So it becomes a residence for CĂ©zanne,
13:45for the family CĂ©zanne,
13:46from 1870 to the death of CĂ©zanne,
13:48in 1886.
13:50CĂ©zanne will be the opportunity to have an atelier.
13:53CĂ©zanne will have a place in Provence,
13:56in 1898.
13:57His mother died in 1897.
13:58And he has to sell the property.
14:00But I think that for Paul CĂ©zanne,
14:01it's a great heart.
14:02It's a great heart.
14:03It's a great heart.
14:04On the other hand,
14:05it's a great heart.
14:06It's a great heart.
14:07It's a great heart.
14:08It's a great heart.
14:10It's a great heart.
14:11X, 23rd of October, 1866.
14:21Dear Camille,
14:24I'm here in the bosom of my family,
14:26with the foulest people on earth,
14:29those who make up my family,
14:31who can be excruciatingly annoying.
14:41.
14:52.
14:54.
14:57.
15:01.
15:05.
15:06.
15:07.
15:08.
15:10Aix, 2nd of November, 1866.
15:34I have been here in Aix, this Athens of the North, with Paul Cezanne,
15:39a portrait of his father in a big armchair comes over really well.
15:44The painting is light in tone, the look is very fine.
15:49The father has the air of a pope on his throne,
15:52if it weren't for the newspaper that he's reading.
15:55The people of Aix still get on his nerves.
15:58They're asked to come and see his painting so that they can rubbish it.
16:02And he has a good way of dealing with them.
16:04Bugger off, he says.
16:06It's a very early portrait for Cezanne,
16:11and it's done in his style known as the maniere couillard,
16:15which is roughly translated as the ballsy manner.
16:18Cezanne is using a palette knife for much of the composition,
16:23but also wide brushes and really slathering on the paint
16:27in a very kind of physical, gestural way.
16:30And I think he's after an image that is quite powerful.
16:35He wanted to make a statement, certainly.
16:38He's young, he's new to the Parisian art scene,
16:41and he's very ambitious.
16:43The sitter is, of course, his father, Louis-Auguste Cezanne.
16:48He had started his business in hat-making in Aix,
16:52and made quite a bit of money and then became a banker,
16:55and was one of the richest men in town.
16:59You see him there sitting in his armchair reading his newspaper,
17:03very much an image of what a businessman of the day would be doing.
17:06He's keeping up with the times.
17:08The paper that he regularly read was one of wide circulation,
17:11particularly in the south of France.
17:13It was called Le SiĂšcle.
17:14So it's interesting that he's not reading the paper
17:16that he normally would have read.
17:18And there is this document, a letter from one of Cezanne's friends,
17:22reporting that Cezanne changed late in the composition,
17:27the masthead on this paper, to L'EvĂšnement,
17:31which was a Parisian paper that Ămile Zola
17:35had recently published, defense of the avant-garde.
17:39And I think that, in a way, Cezanne is conflating
17:42the support of his friend Zola, who had defended him in this newspaper,
17:46with the support of his father.
17:48So it's really kind of an homage to this moment in his career,
17:52and it is an homage to his father.
17:54I think it's quite respectful.
17:56He has a forceful presence in the picture frame,
17:59and he's brought up right against the picture plane,
18:02so he's really almost out in your space.
18:04He's quite an imposing figure.
18:06There's no doubt that at the inception of a picture like this,
18:10he intended it for the Salon.
18:12And the same year that he paints this painting,
18:14he does one of his very good friend Achille Empereire,
18:17which he actually submits to the Salon, and it is rejected.
18:21So this painting doesn't make it into the Salon until 1882,
18:25and it is, in fact, the first painting by Cezanne accepted at a Salon.
18:30Paris, 26th of November, 1874.
18:58My dear mother,
19:01Pissarro has not been in Paris for about a month and a half.
19:05He is in Brittany.
19:07But I know he has a good opinion of me,
19:09and I have a good opinion of myself.
19:12I am beginning to consider myself stronger than all those around me.
19:16I have to work all the time, but not to achieve the finish that earns the admiration of imbeciles.
19:25I must strive for completion purely for the satisfaction of becoming truer and wiser.
19:31It is a very bad moment for sales.
19:34All the bourgeois balk at parting with their cash.
19:37But that will end.
19:40Aix, April, 1876.
19:49My dear Pissarro,
19:51Two days ago, I received a large number of catalogues and newspapers about your exhibition at Dealer Durand-Ruelles.
20:00I also learned that Monet's La Japanese had been sold for 2,000 francs.
20:06According to the papers, it seemed that Manny's rejection by the Salon has caused quite a stir,
20:12and that he is doing his own exhibition at home.
20:15Here, the frost was so severe that the fruit and vine harvests were ruined.
20:21But that's the advantage of art.
20:24Painting endures.
20:26Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that I was sent another rejection letter.
20:33It's neither new nor surprising.
20:39Aix, April, 1876.
20:42My dear Pissarro,
20:45If having the impressionist's background can help me,
20:49I'll show the best I have with them,
20:51and something neutral with the others.
21:01The palette is lightening after 1870,
21:05and what gradually emerges by the end of the 70s,
21:11in terms of the application,
21:13is this so-called constructive brushstroke,
21:17where he started to lay everything out with smallish individual brushstrokes,
21:23running diagonally, usually, across figures and ground,
21:28so that one recognizes again the materiality of the marking as well as the subject.
21:36We have, on the six meshes of the Granet Museum,
21:48a landscape that represents the Jase de Bouffant.
21:51And in this Jase de Bouffant, there is a period of transition.
21:55We are in the 1870s, 1876, maybe 1877.
22:02We have a tableau that shows, in the right side,
22:06the dimensions that are still impressive,
22:09but in the shape of CĂ©zanne.
22:11That means that its touch becomes constructive and structurally.
22:15That means that it has a sense, an orientation, an inclination,
22:19a coherence that gives an internal architecture to the table.
22:22And next, in the left side of the table,
22:26we have the future of CĂ©zanne,
22:28which will make the great originality of CĂ©zanne,
22:31the invention of the color plan.
22:35The color plan is a way for CĂ©zanne to create space,
22:39to model the volume,
22:41without any need of atmospheric perspective,
22:45nor euclidian perspective,
22:48which we use since the Renaissance,
22:50but to invent a new way to model and creuse the space
22:54by the color plan.
22:58By this succession of plans,
22:59this superposition of plans,
23:01and this tableau of Jase de Bouffant
23:05shows how, in this period of transition
23:08between 1870 and 1880,
23:10CĂ©zanne,
23:12justement,
23:13va prendre un parti,
23:15et puis un autre,
23:16dans la mĂȘme toile.
23:18On mesure totalement cette Ă©volution,
23:20et ce tableau est passionnant pour cela.
23:28Paris, 24th of August, 1877.
23:33Dear Ămile,
23:35it seems that a deep depression reigns
23:38in the Impressionist camp.
23:40They are not exactly making their fortune.
23:42We are living in very troubled times.
23:46We are living in very old times.
23:47We are living in very old times.
23:48We are living in very old times.
23:53our way,
24:00living in very old times.
24:02We are living inèäž Ăš importante.
24:03We are living in minerals,
24:04that we can't wait for a different way.
24:05While this part,
24:06is on a urbanFE TRACE,
24:07we are living in places.
24:09The Level Űłreas,
24:11our vehicle ÛÛy competitive loux,
24:12Hortense Fiquet, who is his brother, gave a son in 1872.
24:42CĂ©zanne ne dit rien Ă son pĂšre. Jusqu'au jour oĂč son pĂšre, qui reçoit le courrier ici, une lettre adressĂ©e Ă son fils Paul, il ouvre le courrier.
24:52C'est un pÚre de famille qui ouvre tous les courriers et il s'aperçoit qu'il est grand-pÚre.
24:57Il ne dit rien Ă Paul CĂ©zanne's fils. Il lui dit « Ăcoute, mon fils, quand on est sans enfant et sans charge de famille, on n'a pas besoin de tout l'argent que je t'envoie. »
25:06Et il lui coupe en partie ses vivres. Et là , Zola va jouer un rÎle majeur. Pendant dix ans, pratiquement de 1876 à 1886, il va alimenter ses ùnes avec de l'argent réguliÚrement.
25:2023rd of March, 1878.
25:26« Ămile, I seem to be on the verge of having to fend for myself, if indeed I'm up to it. Relations between my father and myself are becoming very tense, and I risk losing my entire allowance.
25:42A letter from M. Chocquet, in which he mentioned Mme CĂ©zanne and little Paul, provided conclusive proof of my situation to my father,
25:52who, by the way, was already alert, full of suspicions, and who had nothing better to do than to unseal and be the first to read the letter that was sent to me,
26:04even though it was addressed to M. Paul CĂ©zanne Painter.
26:12Aix, 4th of April, 1878.
26:18My dear Ămile, please send 60 francs to Hortense in Marseille.
26:25I have only been able to secure 100 francs from my father, and I was even afraid that he might not give me anything at all.
26:32He's heard from various people that I have a child, and he's trying by every means possible to catch me out.
26:40He wants to rid me of it.
26:42It would take too long to explain the good man to you, but appearances are deceptive, believe you me.
26:51I slipped off last week to see the little one in Marseille, but missed the train back, and had to walk the 30 kilometers.
26:59I was an hour late for dinner.
27:01Hortense, in fact, a servile.
27:12D'abord, elle s'est occupée de son mari toute sa vie, et contrairement à ce que l'on a dit, ils ont vécu beaucoup ensemble.
27:20Parce qu'il ne faut pas oublier que 50% de la vie de Cézanne était dans la région parisienne, et les 50 autres, ici, à Aix-en-Provence ou autour.
27:31Donc dĂ©jĂ , les 50% oĂč il Ă©tait Ă Paris, ils Ă©taient ensemble.
27:36Hortense a eu, je trouve, une attitude de femme d'artiste, en lui laissant une liberté dont il avait besoin, et elle aussi.
27:45Bon, de temps en temps, il y a eu des moments un peu chauds, comme dans tous les couples, mais elle s'occupait du quotidien, rien n'Ă©tait simple pour elle.
27:55Si vous imaginez que pendant toute sa vie, elle a déménagé 22 fois à Paris.
28:01Donc en fait, elle n'a jamais eu de lieu stable, et elle l'a toujours accepté.
28:15Sous-titrage ST' 501
28:45Lorsqu'on prend en considération le travail de Cézanne, effectivement, on se demande comment il a pu vivre en vendant si peu de tableaux,
29:01et en se permettant, notamment pour les portraits, de faire des Ćuvres qu'il avait encore le moins de chances de vendre.
29:08Son pĂšre a donnĂ© une maigre pension qu'il aurait pu faire beaucoup plus grande, mais quand mĂȘme qui lui a permis de vivre Ă ses dĂ©buts.
29:17Et puis, Cézanne, à la fin des années 1880, va hériter de ce pÚre, de ses propriétés, qui vont le mettre à l'abri,
29:24et finalement, qui vont lui offrir ce luxe de pouvoir travailler indĂ©pendamment de la vente de ses Ćuvres.
29:31Et cette sécurité matérielle implique un rapport au portrait trÚs différent, par exemple, de celui d'un Renoir,
29:37qui, lui, Ă©tait vraiment trĂšs modeste, n'avait pas de soutien familial,
29:43et donc qui, lui, a travaillé tout au long de sa vie, notamment au début, le portrait, pour vivre,
29:48et qui, donc, a une approche du portrait trÚs différente.
29:51Sous-titrage MFP.
30:21Sous-titrage MFP.
30:51Sous-titrage MFP.
31:21Sous-titrage MFP.
31:51Sous-titrage MFP.
32:21Sous-titrage MFP.
32:51Sous-titrage MFP.
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42:05and this little boy had a connection with life
42:09and a very important point for the painter
42:12in his journal life.
42:15And then growing up,
42:17there was mutual respect
42:19and very quickly,
42:23my grandfather was in charge
42:26of all the daily problems
42:29that the painter didn't like.
42:31It was him who was in charge of the daily life,
42:35if I could say.
42:36Because in fact,
42:37despite his painting,
42:38CĂ©zanne was a bit lost.
43:01With distinction and force.
43:04Taste is the best judge.
43:06It is rare.
43:08Art speaks only to an excessively small group of people.
43:13The artist should scorn all opinion
43:16not based on the intelligent observation of character.
43:20Learn more than the powerful
43:28Butissez is the best judge ?
43:32The second class broke me
43:34and friends were паЎaged.
43:35It is really exciting.
43:37It is the brilliant lady
43:38that his famĂlia and all were born.
43:41One is daviduswïżœïżœdus i'w kimEPth
43:46He was an extraordinary portrait painter and probably the most important since Rembrandt
43:54in that he is really painting humanity.
43:59They are, some of them, difficult paintings if one is thinking about portraits as images of faces.
44:07But the expression is in the whole canvas.
44:11You know, as Matisse said, expression for me isn't in gesture or in face, but in the whole composition.
44:19And this is a major gift that CĂ©zanne gave to modern painting.
44:25La note de CĂ©zanne est totalement singuliĂšre.
44:28C'est comme si elle s'Ă©chappait presque de son Ă©poque.
44:30Et comme si elle allait trÚs avant déjà , comme si elle allait dans son audace d'abstraction.
44:36Et c'est bien pour ça, je pense, que des artistes comme Picasso, Braque et d'autres
44:41ont tellement vu en Cézanne une figure de pÚre, une figure tutélaire.
44:46C'est qu'il ouvrait la voie à cette possibilité.
44:48CĂ©zanne est un peintre de peintre avant tout.
44:50C'est un peintre difficile, c'est une peinture difficile, exigeante, dans laquelle il faut rentrer.
44:54Mais tous les grands artistes de sa génération et de ceux qui sont un peu plus jeunes aprÚs lui
44:58ont bien senti combien il y avait lĂ un absolu.
45:02Dans la vision aussi de la mission de ce qu'Ă©tait un artiste moderne, au fond.
45:11Aix, 3rd August, 1906.
45:17Ma dear Paul,
45:21I get up early,
45:23et c'est seulement vraiment entre 5 et 8 que je peux faire ma propre vie.
45:28By the time the heat becomes stupefying
45:31et saps the brain so much,
45:33I ne peux mĂȘme pas penser Ă la peinture.
45:34I caught bronchitis.
45:40I've abandoned homeopathy for old-fashioned mixed syrups.
45:44It's a shame that I can't give many demonstrations of my ideas and sensations.
45:51Long live the Goncourt, Pissarro,
45:54and all those who have a propensity for color,
45:57which represents light and air.
45:59I know that with the terrible heat,
46:03you and Maman will be tired.
46:05So it's a good thing that you are both able to get back to Paris
46:08in time to find yourselves in a less burning atmosphere.
46:15I must remind you not to forget the slippers.
46:18The ones I have are just about giving up on me.
46:24Aix, 26th August, 1906.
46:29My dear Paul,
46:32when I forget to write to you,
46:35it's because I lose track of time a little.
46:39It's been terribly hot,
46:41and in addition, my nervous system must be much weakened.
46:47Painting is the best thing for me.
46:50I go to the river by carriage every day.
46:54It's nice enough there,
46:56but my weakness is getting me down.
46:59I'm going to go up to the studio.
47:02I got up late, after five.
47:06I'm still working happily,
47:08and yet sometimes the light is so bad
47:11that nature seems ugly to me.
47:14So one has to choose.
47:17My pen is hardly moving.
47:20I embrace you both with all my heart
47:24and remember me to all the friends
47:27who still think of me across time and space.
47:31A big hug for you and Mumu.
47:36Aix, 15th of October, 1906.
47:47My dear Paul,
47:49everything goes by with frightening speed.
47:53I'm not doing too badly.
47:56I look after myself.
47:59I eat well.
48:01My dear Paul,
48:03to give you the satisfactory news you want,
48:06I would have to be 20 years younger.
48:09I repeat,
48:11I eat well,
48:12and a little boost to morale
48:14would do me a power of good.
48:16But only work can give me that.
48:19All my compatriots
48:22are idiots beside me.
48:28I embrace you
48:30and Mumu.
48:33Your father,
48:35Paul Cezanne.
48:49And a longer version
48:54of this great art film
48:55is available on DVD
48:57and to download
48:58from all good retailers.
49:00Stay there for Tenable
49:01on the way next.
49:02The End
49:03The End
49:04The End
49:04Transcription by CastingWords
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