Paul Cezanne - Madame Cezanne in a Yellow Chair - 1893 - 81 x 65 cm -32 x 26 in - oil on canvas

What a great painting!  As in yesterday’s post the subject is leaning.

I would like to point out as before how he provides the feeling of space with shapes, which is very evident at the bottom of this painting.  There is a wonderful shape which I have isolated in the detail below.

Can you feel the shape being in front?  (blurring your vision may help).  Now return to the shape in the painting.  Do  you sense the shape connecting to the edge of her dress at the bottom right of the painting?  When we make the connection, we feel a larger shape spanning across in front of her, supporting her hands.

This is far from depiction, what we are viewing is what eventually be termed cubism.

There are other wonderful considerations in this composition.  Cezanne provided a very sensitive pull, a terrific shift and masterful integration as well as other masterful strokes.