Customer Reviews

Cezanne and American Modernism (Baltimore Museum of Art)

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This is the catalogue for the current exhibition held at the Montclair Art Museum, which will later travel to Baltimore, and it focuses on a little-studied aspect of American art: the influence of Cézanne on pre-WWII American modernists (Hartley, Demuth, Man Ray, Gorky, etc). It is a wonderfully illustrated and thoroughly informative publication and, if anything, it serves as a reminder of how strong European influences were at the time and how those influences contributed to thwart the birth of a truly original American modern art (this was to happen only after WWII and the eclosion of Abstract Expressionism).

The book is full of interesting insights (such as the role of Francophile American collectors in promoting Cézanne in the US) and also of outright discoveries, such as "Cezannian" landscapes by Man Ray or Gorky which appear weak and industrious when compared to the master's works. Some three years after the Whitney exhibition focusing on the influence of Picasso on American Art, this book is an ideal complement to it and helps to understand the early developments of XXth century American painting.

"Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will see the land that is very far off." -- Isaiah 33:17

How does artistic influence spread? Today, an image in one location can be soon seen by billions through television, the Internet, and reproduction on paper.

A hundred years ago, a reclusive artist's work might only be seen by a few hundred people during a lifetime. Cezanne is a partial example because his work wasn't widely exhibited and collected during his lifetime. Yet if you go to any museum that presents modern art, you will see Cezanne described as a seminal influence on much of what occurred in the last century. If you are like me, you probably just assumed that Cezanne's work was always well appreciated and understood. Wrong!

Cezanne and American Modernism (the exhibition catalog for the show that is just ending at the Montclair Art Museum, moves next to The Baltimore Museum of Art, and concludes at the Phoenix Art Museum over the summer) delicately describes Cezanne's career: the visibility of his work during and after his life especially through collectors, dealers, and exhibitions; how artists and critics evaluated the work over time; and details the influence that Cezanne had on the works of over 30 prominent 20th century American artists in excellent, well-researched essays and illustrations. By coming from so many different perspectives, the essays and illustrations speak eloquently about Cezanne in a way that you've probably never thought about him. I especially enjoyed seeing Cezanne's works displayed on the same or adjoining pages as the American works that so obviously seem to be inspired from them.

Although I hadn't planned to make a special trip to see this show, now I feel that I absolutely must if I want to more deeply understand Cezanne and the many American artists whose work I so admire.

The American artists who are discussed and displayed in the volume include: Josef Bakos, Oscar Bluemner, Anne Brigman, Patrick Henry Bruce, Arthur B. Carles, Andrew Dasburg, Arthur B. Davies, Charles Demuth, Arther G. Dove, Arshile Gorky, Marsden Hartley, William H. Johnson, Leon Kroll, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, John Marin, Alfred H. Maurer, Willard Nash, B.J.O. Nordfeldt, Paul Outerbridge, Walter Pach, Maurice Prendergast, Man Ray, Anne Estelle Rice, Morgan Russell, Morton Livingston Schamberg, Charles Sheeler, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Paul Strand, Abraham Walkowitz, Margaret Watkins, Max Weber, Clarence H. White, and Hale Woodruff.

If you don't know all of these artists, you'll probably find some new favorites from this book.

Beautiful book, great reproductions illustrating the Cezanne's influence on other artists.
Would have preferred a paperback edition for many reasons including the energy consumed shipping it to Hawaii.
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