The Artist's Father, Reading "L'Événement"
1866
Artist, French, 1839 - 1906

This portrait reveals Cezanne’s complicated relationship with his father. The Italian immigrant built a successful hat business and started a bank in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence. While he intended for his only son to follow in his footsteps, Cezanne had other plans.
Here, the patriarch relaxes at home in his slippers and cap, reading a Parisian newspaper. Cezanne captures his monumental presence and selfassurance. But the artist inserts himself into the work: one of his early still lifes hangs over his father’s head. It is done in the thick painting technique Cezanne learned from his rebellious idol Gustave Courbet. In fact, this portrait itself also uses such heavy slabs of paint. Cezanne may have been asserting his independence.

West Building Main Floor, Gallery 90
Artwork overview
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Credit Line
-
Dimensions
overall: 198.5 x 119.3 cm (78 1/8 x 46 15/16 in.)
framed: 224.2 x 144.8 x 10.1 cm (88 1/4 x 57 x 4 in.) -
Accession
1970.5.1
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
(Ambroise Vollard [1867-1939], Paris). Auguste Pellerin [1952-1929], Paris; by inheritance to René Lecomte, Paris; Lecomte family collection; Mme. Louis de Chaisemartin, née Germaine Charlotte Lecomte; sold 1970 through (Hector Brame, Paris) to NGA.[1]
[1] Acquired with funds provided by Paul Mellon.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1882
Probably Salon of 1882, Paris, no. 520 as Portrait de M.L.A....
1936
Cezanne, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 1936, no. 3
1954
Hommage a Cézanne, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 1954, no. 8, repro.
1986
Gifts to the Nation: Selected Acquisitions from the Collections of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1986, unnumbered checklist
1988
Cézanne: The Early Years, Royal Academy of Arts, London; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1988-1989, no. 21, repro.
1994
Origins of Impressionism, Galeries nationales d'Exposition du Grand Palais, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1994-1995, no. 26, fig. 264, repro., as Portrait de Louis-Auguste Cézanne.
1999
An Enduring Legacy: Masterpieces from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999-2000, no cat.
2005
Pioneering Modern Painting: Cézanne and Pissarro 1865-1885, The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 2005-2006, pl. 2, fig. 23, as The Artist's Father (shown only in New York).
2011
Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; The National Art Center, Tokyo; Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, 2011, no. 8, repro.
2017
Cézanne Portraits, Musée D'Orsay, Paris; National Portrait Gallery, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2017-2018, no. 4.1, repro.
Bibliography
1936
Venturi, Lionello. Cezanne, son art, son oeuvre. 2 vols. Paris, 1936.
1970
Orienti 1970, no.67.
1971
Walker, John. "The National Gallery of Art, Washington: The Founding Benefactors." The Connoisseur 178, no. 718 (December 1971): cover, title page, color repro.
1972
Hours, Madeleine. "Cézanne's Portrait of His Father." Studies in the History of Art v.4 (1971-72):63-76, repro., and note 77-80.
Rewald, John. "Cézanne and His Father." Studies in the History of Art v.4 (1971-72):38-62, repro.
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 62, repro.
1978
King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 91, pl. 54.
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 500, no. 743, color repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 82, repro.
1991
Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 277, 282, repros.
Gingold, Diane J., and Elizabeth A.C. Weil. The Corporate Patron. New York, 1991: 12, 98, 99, color repro.
1992
National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 186, repro.
1996
Rewald, John. The Paintings of Paul Cézanne: a catalogue raisonné. 2 vols. New York, 1996:no. 101, repro.
1997
Kelder, Diane. The Great Book of French Impressionism, 1997, no. 360, repro.
2004
Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 388-389, no. 323, color repro.
2012
Humphries, Oscar. "Editor's Letter: Taxing Questions.' Apollo 175, no. 599 (June 2012): 23, repro.
Brodie, Judith. Shock of the News. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2012:
2013
Harris, Neil. Capital Culture: J. Carter Brown, the National Gallery of Art, and the Reinvention of the Museum Experience. Chicago and London, 2013: 408-409.
Wikidata ID
Q20188675