Madame Cézanne in a Red Armchair
Paul Cézanne
(French, 1839–1906)
about 1877
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions72.4 x 55.9 cm (28 1/2 x 22 in.)
Credit LineBequest of Robert Treat Paine, 2nd
Accession number44.776
On View
Not on viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
Cézanne’s wife, Hortense Fiquet, was his most frequent—and perhaps most patient—model, the subject of nearly thirty portraits. Here, the compressed space and blank facial expression make the sitter appear at once close and distant. Green touches of paint on her face cover more naturalistic shadows, contributing to the work’s distinctively modern character, and resonate with Cézanne’s own description of his work as a “harmony parallel to nature.”
ProvenanceAmbroise Vollard (b. 1867 - d. 1939), Paris [see note 1]; by 1907, probably sold by Vollard to Egisto Fabbri (b. 1866 - d. 1933), Florence [see note 2]; 1928, sold by Fabbri to Georges Wildenstein and Paul Rosenberg and Co., Paris (stock no. 2265) [see note 3]. By 1930, Robert Treat Paine II (b. 1861 - d. 1943), Boston [see note 4]; 1944, bequest of Robert Treat Paine II to the MFA. (Accession Date: November 9, 1944)
NOTES:
[1] Vollard archives, no. 231. See John Rewald, "The Paintings of Paul Cézanne: A Catalogue Raisonné" (New York, 1996), vol. 1, cat. no. 324, pp. 219-220. [2] Egisto Fabbri was one of the first collectors to purchase the works of Cézanne through Vollard. According to notes in the curatorial file, Fabbri lent this painting to the Salon d'Automne, Paris, in 1907. Also see Lucien Henraux, "I Cezanne della Raccolta Fabbri," Dedalo 1 (1920): 53-58 and ibid., "Une grande collection de Cézanne en Italie: La Collection Egisto Fabbri," L'Amour de l'Art November 1924, p. 331, fig. 6216. [3] Fabbri sold thirteen of his Cézanne paintings to the dealers Georges Wildenstein and Paul Rosenberg of Paris. A document of November 15, 1928, confirms their receipt by intermediary Tammaro De Marinis, who oversaw their transport out of Italy. See Francesca Bardazzi, Cézanne in Florence: Two collectors and the 1910 exhibition of Impressionism (exh. cat. Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, March 2 - July 29, 2007), 25-26, 278, doc. 11. [4] Mr. Paine first lent this painting to the MFA in 1930.
NOTES:
[1] Vollard archives, no. 231. See John Rewald, "The Paintings of Paul Cézanne: A Catalogue Raisonné" (New York, 1996), vol. 1, cat. no. 324, pp. 219-220. [2] Egisto Fabbri was one of the first collectors to purchase the works of Cézanne through Vollard. According to notes in the curatorial file, Fabbri lent this painting to the Salon d'Automne, Paris, in 1907. Also see Lucien Henraux, "I Cezanne della Raccolta Fabbri," Dedalo 1 (1920): 53-58 and ibid., "Une grande collection de Cézanne en Italie: La Collection Egisto Fabbri," L'Amour de l'Art November 1924, p. 331, fig. 6216. [3] Fabbri sold thirteen of his Cézanne paintings to the dealers Georges Wildenstein and Paul Rosenberg of Paris. A document of November 15, 1928, confirms their receipt by intermediary Tammaro De Marinis, who oversaw their transport out of Italy. See Francesca Bardazzi, Cézanne in Florence: Two collectors and the 1910 exhibition of Impressionism (exh. cat. Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, March 2 - July 29, 2007), 25-26, 278, doc. 11. [4] Mr. Paine first lent this painting to the MFA in 1930.
Peter Paul Rubens
Peter Paul Rubens