Part Two….After Cezanne met Coldstream
After a month since I wrote part one of this commentary I have completed “the Fruit Dish with Fruit” composition with similar dimensions of the Cezanne original; as I stated above, I did not copy directly but recreated the original still life with some minor adjustments. I also carried out a couple of exercises of the same still life but from different bleak angles. Having been somewhat derogatory about so that’s work in part one of this essay I have turned “volte face” with respect to my initial judgement of Cezanne.
If Cezanne met Coldstream!
Last Tuesday, while on a rare visit to London, I took the afternoon off and visited the Cezanne exhibition at the Tate Modern. I have known the works of Cezanne since childhood and recollect as a ten-year-old writing an essay based on the picture The Card Players (currently exhibited in the Courtauld Institute). My essay, the plot now long forgotten was a very infantile story, but I distinctly recall my primitive analysis of the painting and the recognition of Cezanne’s style; identifying at an early age his peculiar and distinctive hand, displayed in his inexact and freedom in painting style.
The New Rip Van Winkle…
Nearly 50 years ago, when leaving school, I toyed with the idea of attending a one-year Arts Foundation Course at one of the most prestigious and internationally recognised Art Schools based in Central London. I remember reading the colourful and attractive prospectus for the course and thinking how much I would enjoy what it had to offer over the year. However, my life took a different direction and ended up missing Art School. Now, fifty years later, having worked in a wide range of businesses, I am returning to my original vocation.