Self-Portrait 1882

Editor: We're looking at Paul Cézanne's "Self-Portrait" from 1882, currently housed at the Kunsthaus Zürich. Painted with oil on canvas, it strikes me as surprisingly raw and direct, almost confrontational, what do you see when you look at this piece? Curator: It feels like peering into Cézanne's soul, doesn't it? That slightly tilted hat, the beard that seems to absorb light itself… He’s not trying to flatter himself, is he? I feel like he wants us to really *see* him, flaws and all, like an apple in one of his still lifes. Do you notice how he uses colour, especially those greens and browns in the background? It's almost like the colours are vibrating, each brushstroke a thought. Editor: It does have that intense, almost vibrating quality. And that stark contrast between light and shadow – what do you think he was trying to convey with that? Curator: Perhaps a battle? A battle within himself? Maybe a fight between tradition and modernism? It’s so human, isn't it? And this piece prefigures modernism – how about those thick impasto strokes? The geometric reduction is the beginning of a breakdown of the image into form, but one filled with the inner psychological turmoil revealed in this simple self-portrait. It isn't just a portrait, it's a declaration. A whisper of change in the winds of art! Don't you feel like you want to know more? Editor: Definitely. I hadn’t considered it a declaration before, but now I can't unsee it! Thanks for sharing your perspectives. Curator: My pleasure. Looking at it together gives a new and intriguing vision of this work, to see the modern seed about to sprout into a very colourful forest!