The thing about blockbuster shows is that you’re under pressure to take everything in while being crowded on all sides.
It therefore took a second, more relaxed, visit to the large Cezanne exhibition at Tate Modern for me to really see the work properly.
People rave about his still lives and landscapes but some of the pieces I admired the most were the depictions of his family.
See these portraits of his son and his wife. There’s a strength of emotion coupled with the formal explorations of painting that I find spell-binding.
Something else I found fascinating was the number of his works bought and owned by painters. The ones below are all of bathers and quite small-scale. Was this because there were more of them made so more affordable? I’d be interested to find out.
