Paul Cézanne

The print titled Paul Cézanne is a lithograph created by the renowned French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1902. This intimate portrait captures the likeness of Renoir’s contemporary and friend, the Post-Impressionist master Paul Cézanne, during the final years of his life.

Although primarily celebrated for his vibrant oil paintings, Renoir experimented significantly with graphic arts late in his career, producing notable examples of the prints medium. This lithograph demonstrates a masterful handling of the stone, utilizing subtle shading and delicate cross-hatching to define Cézanne's sturdy form and deeply set, intense gaze. Unlike the shimmering color Renoir typically applied to his Impressionist canvases, the medium allows him to focus entirely on texture and tonal contrast, giving the portrait a profound, serious quality appropriate for the gravity of the sitter.

The creation of this piece highlights the powerful interconnectedness of the avant-garde movement in France at the turn of the century, demonstrating the mutual respect shared between these two giants of modern art. As a significant document of artistic exchange, Renoir’s unidealized depiction of Cézanne holds great historical value. This important work is classified as a Print and is held in the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Because of its age and cultural importance, high-resolution reproductions of this piece are frequently available in the public domain.