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Madame Cézanne (Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in the Conservatory

1891
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 826

Hortense Fiquet, a former artist’s model, met Cézanne about 1869; they had a son in 1872, fourteen years before they married. This painting, one of more than two dozen for which Hortense posed, is set in the conservatory of Jas de Bouffan, the Cézanne family estate near Aix. The unfinished canvas offers a revealing glimpse into Cézanne’s working method. He placed Madame Cézanne’s carefully modeled head slightly off-center, cradled between a lush tree and a spindly plant, and then proceeded to build up the rest of the pyramidal composition, touch by exacting touch.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Madame Cézanne (Hortense Fiquet, 1850–1922) in the Conservatory
  • Artist: Paul Cézanne (French, Aix-en-Provence 1839–1906 Aix-en-Provence)
  • Date: 1891
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 36 1/4 x 28 3/4 in. (92.1 x 73 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Stephen C. Clark, 1960
  • Object Number: 61.101.2
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Studies of a tree (recto and verso), Paul Cézanne French, Graphite with green, blue and yellow washes (recto); graphite with green, blue and purple washes (verso)
Studies of a tree (recto and verso)
Paul Cézanne
1887–90
The Large Bathers (Les Baigneurs), Paul Cézanne French, Color lithograph on wove paper; first state of two
The Large Bathers (Les Baigneurs)
Paul Cézanne
ca. 1898
Portrait of Guillaumin with a Hanging Man, Paul Cézanne French, Etching and drypoint; second state of two (restrike)
Portrait of Guillaumin with a Hanging Man
Paul Cézanne
1873
Exhibition Announcement and Catalogue for a Cézanne show at the Galerie Vollard (May 9–June 10, 1898), Paul Cézanne French, Relief print
Exhibition Announcement and Catalogue for a Cézanne show at the Galerie Vollard (May 9–June 10, 1898)
Paul Cézanne
1898
Bathers (recto); Still Life (verso), Paul Cézanne French, Watercolor over graphite (recto); watercolor (verso)
Bathers (recto); Still Life (verso)
Paul Cézanne
ca. 1890 (recto) – 1900 (verso)

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