Paul Czanne

A. Personality Czanne was notably timid and shy. He was extremely anti-social and at times
he would go into solitude while he completed his artwork. He was at often times rude and
extremely sensitive towards his friends or the people he idolized in the painting world. His shy
nature made it really hard for him to get along with most people and in the later years of his life,
more specifically after the death of his mother in 1897, he withdrew from his family and the
public and became consumed with his work. Czanne dealt with insecurities. Lost his temper
easily and was prone to depression (Czanne A Biography).

B. Temperament Czannes timid nature caused him to be isolate and shy. He had a few close
friends but it has been well documented that his rude outbursts and strong mindedness and
objections to society and other peoples choices created a lot of tension between him and others.
He wasnt concerned with others opinions and it had a great impact on his art work. He is
widely known for his unconformative nature and he painted pictures clearly indicating that his
vision was unique and that his purpose was quite different from that of the Impressionists
(moodbook.com).

C. Family Life Born the son of a wealthy banker, Czanne grew up in a very posh household.
He was close with his mother, father and two sisters at a young age. There was a period of
disagreement with his father and was eventually reconciled once he began to accept Czannes
career choices. He had one son with his mistress whom he eventually married.

D. Time period Living from 1839-1906, Czanne was most influential during the now known
Post-Impressionism period. The early 1860s was a period of great vitality for Parisian literary
and artistic activity (moodbook.com). It was the perfect time for him to study and work in Paris
alongside other members of the impressionist and post-impressionist movements. It allowed him
to develop his skills and surpass others in such a way that he was able to fulfill his hopes,
postmortem, that his paintings would become a form of education for other artists.

4. Describe one work of art that you feel was the most significant piece your artist produced and
in your own words explain why.

The most significant piece of artwork by Czanne would be from his Bathers series, circa 19001905. The series sampled above with one painting served for inspiration for several artists
including Picasso. More notably directly influencing Picassos Demoiselles dAvignon. All of his
artwork sought to redefine abstraction and focused more on balance of both background and
subject. It allowed him to create a total sense of composition.

5. Describe what emotions you feel this painting portrays to you and explain how the artist to
used Principles and Elements of Design to convey these feelings.
When looking at this picture I get a great sense of unity, tranquility and harmony. The women are
defined as separate entities but the brush strokes and shadows appear soft and create a uniformity
and almost appear as if they are all connected. The light tones of the landscape accentuate the
peacefulness of the scene. With no true facial definition, the women appear to be one with the
lake.

6. Describe the center of interest or focal point?

There is no one focal point. The women and the lake are all balanced and harmonious. The
subject of this painting is the entire scene. Its a group of women bathing at a lake. The center of
interest is the entire group.

7. Describe your artists style.

His artwork ranges among many styles. Generally categorized as a Post-Impressionist, his
unique method of building form with color and his analytical approach to nature influenced the
art of Cubists, Fauvists, and successive generations of avant-garde artists (metmuseaum.org).
His very early work was said to be violent because there are obvious and thick brush strokes.
He continued to study other artists and various forms of art styles. He is mostly known for his
contributions to Post-Impressionism and Modernism. He really never fit into one style because
he was always changing and developing new techniques.

A. Czanne A Biography by John Rewald (1986)

B. http://www.moodbook.com/history/postimpressionism/paul-cezanne-life-and-work.html
C. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pcez/hd_pcez.htm