Still life with Plaster Cupid
Maker
(Artists)
1839-1906
1839-1906
Title
Still life with Plaster Cupid
Date of Production
c. 1894
Medium
oil on paper on board
Dimensions
Height: 70.6 cm (panel)
Width: 57.3 cm (panel)
Width: 57.3 cm (panel)
Accession Number
P.1948.SC.59
Mode of Acquisition
Samuel Courtauld, bequest, 1948
Credit
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)
Copyright
Work in the public domain
Location
On display
Keywords
plaster
Label Text
This work depicts a still life set up in Paul Cézanne’s studio, including a plaster cast of a small 17th-century sculpture surrounded by fruit and vegetables. A few canvases are propped up against the wall. Cézanne used this seemingly simple arrangement to create one of his most complex and disorientating paintings.
The spatial arrangement of the studio is difficult to grasp and the impression of depth is unsettling. The green apple in the far corner seems too large and the floor itself appears tilted. The blue drapery in the painting propped against the wall on the left blends with the hem of the fabric on the table. The position of the sprouting onion blurs the distinction between the ‘real’ fruits and vegetables on the table and the ones depicted in the canvas.
This work challenged the traditional view that still life was a limited and unadventurous genre. Rather than creating straightforward representations, Cézanne used still life to liberate himself from conventional ways of seeing.
The spatial arrangement of the studio is difficult to grasp and the impression of depth is unsettling. The green apple in the far corner seems too large and the floor itself appears tilted. The blue drapery in the painting propped against the wall on the left blends with the hem of the fabric on the table. The position of the sprouting onion blurs the distinction between the ‘real’ fruits and vegetables on the table and the ones depicted in the canvas.
This work challenged the traditional view that still life was a limited and unadventurous genre. Rather than creating straightforward representations, Cézanne used still life to liberate himself from conventional ways of seeing.
Provenance
Bernheim-Jeune, Paris; Dr G Jebsen, Oslo; Paul Rosenberg; Paris; Alex Reid, Glasgow; purchased by Samuel Courtauld, May 1923; Courtauld Bequest, 1948
Exhibition History
Paul Cezanne, Art Institute of Chicago, 15/05/2022-05/09/2022; Tate Modern, London, 05/10/2022-26/02/2023
Cezanne. Masterpieces from the Courtauld Gallery, KODE, Bergen, Norway, 16/07/2021-10/10/2021
Masterpieces of Impressionism from The Courtauld Gallery, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 10/09/2019-15/12/2019; Aichi Prefectural Museum, Nagoya, Japan, 03/01/2020-15/03/2020; Kobe City Museum, Kobe, Japan, 28/03/2020-21/06/2020 ...More
The Courtauld Collection. A Vision for Impressionism, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, 20/02/2019-17/06/2019
Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cezanne, National Gallery, London, 17/09/2018-20/01/2019
Cezanne's Still Life with Plaster Cupid, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 16/03/2015-07/05/2015
The Courtauld Cézannes, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 26/06/2008-05/10/2008
Into the 20th century - New Displays at the Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 10/10/2002
Paul Cézanne, Stockholm & Sweden, 16/10/1997-11/01/1998
National Gallery (to be displayed with permanent collection), National Gallery, London, 01/09/1997-01/06/1998
Paul Cézanne, Leicester Galleries, London, 1925 (Jun.-Jul.) ...Less
Cezanne. Masterpieces from the Courtauld Gallery, KODE, Bergen, Norway, 16/07/2021-10/10/2021
Masterpieces of Impressionism from The Courtauld Gallery, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 10/09/2019-15/12/2019; Aichi Prefectural Museum, Nagoya, Japan, 03/01/2020-15/03/2020; Kobe City Museum, Kobe, Japan, 28/03/2020-21/06/2020 ...More
The Courtauld Collection. A Vision for Impressionism, Louis Vuitton Foundation, Paris, 20/02/2019-17/06/2019
Courtauld Impressionists: From Manet to Cezanne, National Gallery, London, 17/09/2018-20/01/2019
Cezanne's Still Life with Plaster Cupid, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 16/03/2015-07/05/2015
The Courtauld Cézannes, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 26/06/2008-05/10/2008
Into the 20th century - New Displays at the Courtauld, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 10/10/2002
Paul Cézanne, Stockholm & Sweden, 16/10/1997-11/01/1998
National Gallery (to be displayed with permanent collection), National Gallery, London, 01/09/1997-01/06/1998
Paul Cézanne, Leicester Galleries, London, 1925 (Jun.-Jul.) ...Less
Literature
The Courtauld Cézannes, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 2008
cat. no. 8
Aidin, Rose, 'Back to Life' review of 'Second Nature', 25 August 2000
p. 48
cat. no. 8
Aidin, Rose, 'Back to Life' review of 'Second Nature', 25 August 2000
p. 48
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