Lac d'Annecy

~In 1895, Cézanne began and worked on, but did not finish, a portrait of the Impressionist critic Gustave Geffroy (fig. 48), whom he had met at Claude Monet’s house in Giverny. Fifty years later, in his essay titled “Cézanne’s Doubt,” Maurice Merleau-Ponty wrote one short sentence, and a couple of...

There is a dynamic relationship between depicted light – the light effects represented in Impressionist paintings – and the inherent luminosity of the materials and methods of handling used by the painters. Understanding this relationship is crucial in evaluating the modernity and meanings of Impressionist painting. The physical properties of their chosen materials facilitated...