The_House_of_the_Hanged_Man_at_Auvers

Look carefully at The House of the Hanged Man at Auvers, 1872-1873, by Paul Cézanne. In not more than 500 words, explain why you think this painting was dismissed so scathingly by some critics when it was exhibited with the Independents in 1874. The exhibition in 1874 was held by an independent group of artists known as the Impressionists and was held outside the prestigious ‘Salon’. When Paul Cézanne exhibited with the Independents in 1874, his painting of ‘The House of the Hanged Man at Auvers’ , his controversial method and technique of art was only just emanating and was met with sarcasm and vicious criticism. Cézanne’s painting ‘ The House of the Hanged Man at Auvers’ is characteristically Impressionist evident in the bright colours and vigorous brushstrokes. He wanted to capture the effects of light through colour but equally he was advertent of objects and structure. The objects in the painting are solid and the rectangular shapes complement the composition. The two main houses seem to be on the same plane and don’t recede in depth . There similar structure creates the illusion of symmetry and the unstable looking ground is completely different to the faint, definite open spaces characteristic of Impressionism. Every stroke of the brushwork is stiff and distinct causing the painting to seem dense and thick with paint. Cézanne was obsessed with form and was passionate that subject matter was secondary to his own performance of painting. He wanted to produce exactly what his eye saw in nature rather than just a transient appearance of the matter. It was this, his dense palette, unmistakable geometric nature, solid frameworks and colour determined aspects of distance and depth that marked the difference between Cézanne and his Impressionist contemporaries. Cézanne’s style of art was undoubtedly revolutionary particularly with his deviation from Impressionist ideals. Not only was he almost ignoring the traditional aspects of art but was also moving away from an already new style of art and was creating his own very individual style. The established principles of aspects such as technique, composition and how artistic quality was to be defined was challenged by him against the traditional ideals. Many believed that he was incompetent and that his paintings lacked technical skill. A reviewer of the exhibition in 1874 named ‘Jean Prouvaire’ said “ Shall we mention Cézanne…no known jury has ever…imagined the possibility of accepting a single work by this painter…” ( ‘Prouvaire‘, 1874). This mockery was common emotion displayed when viewing Cézanne’s work. His inability to paint a classic picture such as Nicholas Poussin’s ‘Landscape with a Calm’, with defined images, smooth modelling and surfaces was according to the traditionalists because of his lack of ability. No critic envisaged that Cézanne was deliberately painting in the way he did. Cézanne’s avant-garde approach to art was new and different in an already politically and socially changing society. Change to any established structure was normally rejected and dismissed. What Paul Cézanne was creating, along with the Impressionists, according to the traditionalists, was inadequate and incompetent far from the classical sophisticated picture- like art that was recognised and praised. Cézanne is said to be the father of modern art. His departure from Impressionist aspects paved the way for Post-Impressionism and the link to what became known as Cubism. It was his unique vision and radical confidence that has without a doubt made Cézanne a cult figure.