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Madame Cezanne in a Yellow Chair
The Art Institute of Chicago

Madame Cezanne in a Yellow Chair

Oil on canvasPaul Cezanne (French, 1839–1906)/1888–90

Description

This portrait is one in a series of four Paul Cezanne made of his wife, Emélie-Hortense Fiquet, whom he met when she worked as an artist’s model. They had a son together in 1872 and married in 1886. Technical examination suggests that Cezanne traced this image, the second in the series, from the first portrait, which he made from life. In contrast to her masklike expression, Hortense’s hands are agitated, contorted by crisscrossing brushstrokes and the dark-blue outlines Cezanne used to sketch out the forms, which remain visible in the final work.

Provenance

Ambroise Vollard (1866–1939), Paris, June 13, 1906 [Vollard sent the painting to Bernheim-Jeune with two other paintings on June 13, 1906]; sold to Galerie Bernheim-Jeune & Cie, Paris, Feb. 22, 1907 [according to correspondence from Gilbert Gruet of Bernheim-Jeune & Cie, Nov. 29, 1977, copy in curatorial file]; sold to Théodore Duret, Paris, Apr. 16, 1907 [this and the following according to New York 2006–7]; returned to Galerie Bernheim–Jeune & Cie, Paris, c. Apr. 1908; sold to August Deusser, Düsseldorf, Germany, Oct. 15, 1909 [Galerie Bernheim-Jeune & Cie’s stockbook no. 15.758; see Gruet correspondence cited above]. Galerie Thannhauser, Lucerne, Switzerland, and Paul Rosenberg and Co., Paris and New York, Nov. 30, 1823 [this and the following according to the Thannhauser/Rosengart stockbook, no. 714; see also Pfister 1927, d’Ors 1926, and New York 1928]; sold to Alphonse Kann, St. Germain-en-Laye and London, Oct. 31, 1929 [according to New York 2006–7]; sold to Paul Rosenberg & Co, Paris and New York, Nov. 6, 1947 [Rosenberg Ledger, no. 836, Museum of Modern Art, New York, copy in curatorial file; see also consular invoice, copy in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, April 22, 1948.

Dimensions

80.9 × 64.9 cm (31 13/16 × 25 9/16 in.)

Movement / Period

Post-Impressionism

Accession No

62371

Official Citations

[The Art Institute of Chicago Official Record][Full Resolution Image]
Curatorial Affinity Stream

Continuing the Universe of Paul Cezanne (French, 1839–1906)

Post-Impressionism • France • Harmonious Works & Contemporaries

Madame Cezanne in a Yellow Chair by Paul Cezanne (French, 1839–1906) (1888–90) | PublicArk | PublicArk