The Paintings of Paul Cezanne: A Catalogue Raisonne - Review

Geffroy's arguments were ingenious and entirely relevant to issues raised in the social and cultural criticism of the time. The expressiveness of CEzanne's mark, as well as his unending, unfulfilled search after his art's perfected completion - both of these features reflected the political ideal of a unique individual who would prosper in the absence of traditional models of social behavior, developing unpredictably and fitfully while yet making "progress." No doubt, Geffroy's argument appealed to intellectuals; its persuasiveness within the more extended world of the art market would be a different matter, for social ideals and aesthetic values operate on different channels of perception. The task of "completing" Cezanne's paintings might be accomplished by a critic like Geffroy, but only in the immaterial realm of cultural metaphor.

Certain artists, dealers, and collectors became involved in "completion" in the more literal, material way; they made Cezanne acceptable by supplying his pictures with their missing parts. In recognition of the problem, Vollard - who may have had a share in creating this very problem - used photography to record the original appearance of paintings as they came into his possession. Henri Matisse voiced approval of the practice, which he felt would protect Cezanne's works from acquiring improper "finish."(25) But it happened anyway. The painter Emile Schuffenecker openly admitted to having retouched several works, including La Baie de L'Estaque (R444) and Grand pin et terres rouges (Bellevue) (R537). In the latter instance, the additions were substantial: according to Schuffenecker (see R537), Cezanne had left a good third of the surface blank - an invitation to well-intended, sensitive collaboration. But the marks (presumably Schuffenecker's) that occupy much of the right side of this canvas, as well as those along the top margin, seem slack in relation to most of the rest of the picture. This "finish" is no improvement.

While Grand pin et terres rouges (Bellevue) is not particularly well known and perhaps deservedly so, its sibling, Grand pin et terres rouges (R761) is impressive enough to have been chosen as the cover image for the catalogue of the recent Paris-London-Philadelphia retrospective. Yet it, too, has something of a "finish" problem: the uppermost register of marks along its top edge appears inconsistent with and disconnected from the structure of the rest of the image, as if it were filled in by a second hand. Blank margins could have occurred when paintings were restretched by Vollard or others after shipping, although it would seem that careful handling would easily have solved such a problem. Whatever the cause, the effect of discontinuity, inconsistency, or simple dullness along the margins of Cezanne's paintings is a sufficiently common occurrence to deserve comprehensive investigation. This type of technical concern suits a catalogue raisonne.

Equally in evidence in Cezanne's oeuvre are paintings appearing to have had blank elements filled in with an unobtrusive neutral color, such as gray, pale brown, or dull ochre. This might have been done in cases where the empty areas seemed disruptive. Applied skillfully, such neutral colors do not adversely affect an existing chromatic harmony. Le Mont Sainte-Victoire au-dessus de la Route du Tholonet (avec pin parasol) (R900) is a potential example of the phenomenon. It has washes of gray in its lower registers, which appear as a benign yet alien presence, a friendly invasion.