Hand and Shoulder of a Boy

c. 1885

Paul Cezanne

Associated Names
Paul Cezanne

Artist, French, 1839 - 1906

The image features a sketch of a partial figure, mainly showing the hands and part of the head. The body is mostly hidden, with a focus on the hands clasped near the face. The head is slightly tilted forward, with hair suggested by soft pencil strokes. Facial features are not detailed, providing an impressionistic representation. The sketch lacks defined clothing or surroundings, emphasizing the hands and head outline. The background is plain, with light shading around the figure's shoulders or back. The sketch is done in pencil on off-white paper, likely from a sketchbook.

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Artwork overview

Associated Artworks

See all 71 artworks
The image shows a sketch of architectural structures and natural forms from a perspective view. The sketch is on a horizontal paper with elements extending towards the right and receding to the left. Varied pencil lines are used to depict the buildings, terrain, and foliage. The sketch is monochromatic, created with pencil on beige paper. Subtle shading and line weight variations add depth to the drawing.

The Plaster Mill (La Moulin à plâtre)

Paul Cezanne

1889

This tan-colored, fabric-covered sketchbook cover is marked with a few smudges of dark gray and white paint. The binding is to the left in this photograph. The cover is wide and has a cream-colored rope wrapped around the narrower end to our right. The weave of the fabric is visible. A few swipes of gray paint are spaced along the binding, to our left, and there are tiny touches of white, lavender purple, and brick red marking the cover.

Cezanne Sketchbook

Paul Cezanne

1877

Drawn with delicate, overlapping lines and bold, parallel lines for shading in graphite on beige-colored paper, a person hunches over a surface and writes with one hand. The person’s head, hulking shoulders, hands, and the paper on which he writes fill most of the composition. His face is close to the page, and his head tips to our right. Shading suggests eyelashes, nose, ear, and jawline. The background is blank, and the edges of the page and sketchbook are visible.

The Artist's Son Writing

Paul Cezanne

1887

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Paul Cézanne (the artist's son), Paris; Paul Guillaume, Paris; Adrien Chappuis, Tresserve, Switzerland, 1933; Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA, 1967; gift to NGA, 1991

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1991

  • NGA Anniversary 1991, 176.

1999

  • An Enduring Legacy: Masterpieces from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1999-2000.

2015

  • Victor Chocquet: Art Collector and Friend of the Impressionists Renoir, Cézanne, Monet, Manet, Sammlung Oskar Reinhart "Am Römerholz", Winterthur, 2015, unnumbered catalogue.

Bibliography

1973

  • Chappuis, Adrien. The Drawings of Paul Cezanne. 2 vols. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society, 1973.

Wikidata ID

Q64618891

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