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Flowers in a Rococo Vase

Flowers in a Rococo Vase With the works of the 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painters, flower painting as a distinctive genre in Western art reached its zenith (JAMA cover, April 19, 2000). This does not imply a decline, however. Far from it. It has continued to flourish, right on through the 20th century. Notable flower painters include the 18th-century botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redoute; the still life master Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, whose innovations took flower painting to new levels; the as yet little-known 19th-century French painter Antoine Berjon; the 19th-century Henri Fantin-Latour, whose flower works dominated the second half of that century (JAMA covers, September 18, 1996, and January 24/31, 1996); Édouard Manet, whose small flower pieces, executed during the last years of his life, are among the most intimate and charming of all his works (JAMA cover, March 28, 1980); and, at the end of the 19th century, Vincent van Gogh, whose irises and sunflowers gave new meaning to flower still life (JAMA cover, August 16, 1985). Notable in the 20th century are the Americans William Merritt Chase and Emil Carlsen, as well as the French Odilon Redon (JAMA cover, April 21, 1999) and the German Expressionist Emil Nolde (JAMA cover, March 14, 1986). There are others, of course, as numerous as stars in the sky, but these are among those singled out by historians for special mention. (Mitchell P. Flower painting. Available at: http://www.groveart.com. Accessed February 8, 2000.) And then, of course, there is Cézanne, who broke the mold of painting itself. Indeed, the very thought of Cézanne as a flower painter—at least as a flower painter working from nature—seems as improbable as an undying flower. Tradition has it that he worked so slowly and deliberately that any bouquet would have long since browned and died before he had captured any of its fleeting, evanescent beauty on his canvas. Yet some of his loveliest works are just such bouquets. One such example is Flowers in a Rococo Vase (cover ). Although it looks as though it could have been painted from life, it is believed to have been based on a magazine illustration, from which Cézanne then developed his own interpretation. Painted sometime around 1876, Flowers in a Rococo Vase was probably shown at the Third Impressionist Exhibit held in Paris in 1877, to which Cézanne had been invited by his friend Camille Pissarro. Cézanne submitted three watercolors and more than a dozen oils to that exhibit, most of them still lifes and landscapes. They occupied an entire wall that had been reserved for him. Along with pride of place at the exhibit, however, Cézanne was singled out by the Paris critics for the greatest share of the ridicule heaped on the Impressionists whenever they went public. Despite his continuing friendship with Pissarro, Cézanne never again exhibited with the Impressionists; though the critics may have played some role in this decision, it is more likely that Cézanne was simply not sympathetic to the Impressionist style and preferred to follow his own light. Cézanne, for example, believed passionately that form and color were a unity; neither could be separated from the other any more than body could be separated from soul. Thus, although he did shorten his stroke and lighten his palette considerably under the influence of Pissarro, Cézanne did not really care for the Impressionist mode of painting, where light was everything and form more or less accidental. If anything, Cézanne was more interested in the structure of the motif. Thus, with their carefully sought out planes, his flower bouquets are as architectural as, say, the later Mont Sainte Victoires. If the Impressionists were interested in painting light, Cézanne was interested in painting its embodiment. His flowers (and mountains) are not so much images of flowers (or mountains) as they are incarnations of being. That they happen also to be beautiful is only one manifestation of their being. It could be said that whereas the Dutch and Flemish painters preached homilies about the transitoriness of life with their bouquets, Cézanne preferred to build a cathedral in which its evanescence may be celebrated. Paul Cézanne(1839-1906)Flowers in a Rococo Vase c 1876, French. Oil on canvas. 73.0 × 59.8 cm. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (http://www.nga.gov); Chester Dale Collection. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png JAMA American Medical Association

Flowers in a Rococo Vase

JAMA , Volume 283 (16) – Apr 26, 2000

Flowers in a Rococo Vase

Abstract

With the works of the 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painters, flower painting as a distinctive genre in Western art reached its zenith (JAMA cover, April 19, 2000). This does not imply a decline, however. Far from it. It has continued to flourish, right on through the 20th century. Notable flower painters include the 18th-century botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redoute; the still life master Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, whose innovations took flower painting to new levels; the as yet...
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Publisher
American Medical Association
Copyright
Copyright © 2000 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN
0098-7484
eISSN
1538-3598
DOI
10.1001/jama.283.16.2072
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

With the works of the 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painters, flower painting as a distinctive genre in Western art reached its zenith (JAMA cover, April 19, 2000). This does not imply a decline, however. Far from it. It has continued to flourish, right on through the 20th century. Notable flower painters include the 18th-century botanical artist Pierre-Joseph Redoute; the still life master Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, whose innovations took flower painting to new levels; the as yet little-known 19th-century French painter Antoine Berjon; the 19th-century Henri Fantin-Latour, whose flower works dominated the second half of that century (JAMA covers, September 18, 1996, and January 24/31, 1996); Édouard Manet, whose small flower pieces, executed during the last years of his life, are among the most intimate and charming of all his works (JAMA cover, March 28, 1980); and, at the end of the 19th century, Vincent van Gogh, whose irises and sunflowers gave new meaning to flower still life (JAMA cover, August 16, 1985). Notable in the 20th century are the Americans William Merritt Chase and Emil Carlsen, as well as the French Odilon Redon (JAMA cover, April 21, 1999) and the German Expressionist Emil Nolde (JAMA cover, March 14, 1986). There are others, of course, as numerous as stars in the sky, but these are among those singled out by historians for special mention. (Mitchell P. Flower painting. Available at: http://www.groveart.com. Accessed February 8, 2000.) And then, of course, there is Cézanne, who broke the mold of painting itself. Indeed, the very thought of Cézanne as a flower painter—at least as a flower painter working from nature—seems as improbable as an undying flower. Tradition has it that he worked so slowly and deliberately that any bouquet would have long since browned and died before he had captured any of its fleeting, evanescent beauty on his canvas. Yet some of his loveliest works are just such bouquets. One such example is Flowers in a Rococo Vase (cover ). Although it looks as though it could have been painted from life, it is believed to have been based on a magazine illustration, from which Cézanne then developed his own interpretation. Painted sometime around 1876, Flowers in a Rococo Vase was probably shown at the Third Impressionist Exhibit held in Paris in 1877, to which Cézanne had been invited by his friend Camille Pissarro. Cézanne submitted three watercolors and more than a dozen oils to that exhibit, most of them still lifes and landscapes. They occupied an entire wall that had been reserved for him. Along with pride of place at the exhibit, however, Cézanne was singled out by the Paris critics for the greatest share of the ridicule heaped on the Impressionists whenever they went public. Despite his continuing friendship with Pissarro, Cézanne never again exhibited with the Impressionists; though the critics may have played some role in this decision, it is more likely that Cézanne was simply not sympathetic to the Impressionist style and preferred to follow his own light. Cézanne, for example, believed passionately that form and color were a unity; neither could be separated from the other any more than body could be separated from soul. Thus, although he did shorten his stroke and lighten his palette considerably under the influence of Pissarro, Cézanne did not really care for the Impressionist mode of painting, where light was everything and form more or less accidental. If anything, Cézanne was more interested in the structure of the motif. Thus, with their carefully sought out planes, his flower bouquets are as architectural as, say, the later Mont Sainte Victoires. If the Impressionists were interested in painting light, Cézanne was interested in painting its embodiment. His flowers (and mountains) are not so much images of flowers (or mountains) as they are incarnations of being. That they happen also to be beautiful is only one manifestation of their being. It could be said that whereas the Dutch and Flemish painters preached homilies about the transitoriness of life with their bouquets, Cézanne preferred to build a cathedral in which its evanescence may be celebrated. Paul Cézanne(1839-1906)Flowers in a Rococo Vase c 1876, French. Oil on canvas. 73.0 × 59.8 cm. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (http://www.nga.gov); Chester Dale Collection.

Journal

JAMAAmerican Medical Association

Published: Apr 26, 2000

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