Focus on Portrait of Ambroise Vollard (Cézanne) and explain the Description.
The portrait depicts Vollard in a seated pose, with one leg crossed over the other, one hand placed on a book laid in his lap and the other in his pocket. The subject wears a brown suit and bow tie and displays a blank stare that has been attributed to exhaustion from sitting for too many long hours. Vollard is depicted seated in Cézanne's studio and is partly illuminated by the window on the left of the painting. The painting is oil on canvas in the Post-Impressionist style. The dimensions of the canvas are 101 x 81 cm.Vollard's portrait was created using bright patches of colour to highlight his face and large forehead, in stark contrast to his black eyes, which have been described as having an inhuman and alienated quality. Vollard's eyes have been likened to holes in a mask, a common trait seen in many of Cézanne's portraits.The painting features two patches of bare canvas, which are hardly noticeable, but can be seen on the right hand of the subject. During his sittings for the portrait, Vollard asked Cézanne about the two unfinished patches on the hand, but was told that the artist would need more time to return to the Louvre, in order to spend time studying the Old Masters. Cézanne explained that, "If the copy I'm making at the Louvre turns out well, perhaps I will be able tomorrow to find the exact tone to cover up those spots. Don’t you see, Monsieur Vollard, that if I put something there by guesswork, I might have to paint the whole canvas over starting from that point?" The patches were never painted by Cézanne, who maintained his refusal to add more colour to avoid the possibility of ruining the portrait and having to start the entire painting again. The unfinished state of the painting is therefore considered to be an example of his perfectionist approach and willingness to accept unfinished paintings that satisfied him.
Cézanne's studio Vollard Louvre Post-Impressionist