The Artist's Father, Reading "L'Événement"

Cézanne's father expected him to follow the family's business career. The painter placed one of his own early still lifes above him, possibly asserting his chosen profession. Dense paint recalls Courbet. The family portrait connects the young artist's dependence with his wish to determine his own work.

His father sits in a dark cap. His face bends toward the newspaper held before him.

The newspaper spreads across his chest. Its broad light plane divides the dark clothing and joins the hands.

Brown shoes project below gray trousers. Their heavy forms preserve the seated figure's stability.

A tall patterned chair encloses the body. It creates an almost closed space around the reader.

An early still life by Cézanne hangs above. The painting within the portrait introduces the son's presence without showing his figure.

At his father's wish Cézanne first studied law in Aix, then left for Paris in 1861. Here he uses dense paint associated with his study of Courbet. Reading the inserted still life as an assertion of independence draws on the documented family conflict.