Pioneering Modern Painting: Cézanne and Pissarro, 1865-1885

by Paul Cézanne, Camille Pissarro, Joachim Pissarro

Book Overview

From the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s two artistic legends, Paul C zanne and Camille Pissarro, executed numerous paintings side by side as they worked in Pontoise and Auvers. This book was published in conjunction with an exhibition of 74 paintings and 8 drawings that embody the core of the two artists' collaboration and explores their artistic relationship in detail. The artists' dynamic interaction began with their first meeting at the Acad mie Suisse,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0870701851
• ISBN13: 9780870701856
• Release Date: March 2007
• Publisher: Museum of Modern Art
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 3.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 9.4" x 11.4"

Customer Reviews

What an art book should be

This lavishly illustrated book sets a high standard for art books. It features large reproductions of uniformly excellent quality. Each chapter is prefaced by full page close-ups of the work of Pizarro and Cezanne so you can get a real feel for their texture and brushwork. The comparisons are often of the same motif (since Pizarro and Cezanne often painted together). The text is informative without detracting from the importance of the art. I was never able to appreciate Cezanne until I saw his work side by side with Pizarro's. Pizarro is an honest craftsman with charming color and technique but you can clearly see that Cezanne wanted to push the boundaries of painting quite a bit more and his works are energetic, experimental explorations. I came to appreciate both artists more by reading and absorbing the visual information in this beautiful book. If you are looking for a book with great reproductions of either Pizarro or Cezanne, get this book.

Pizzaro & Cezanne together again!

Wow! This is a book not to be missed for those who love Impressionism and the contrast between two of the greats in a way scarecely ever shown. They were friends - mentor and student - and drew inspiration from each other over the years until the student (Cezanne) finally departed South and became his own (and more famous) man. But oh the beauty of Pizarro's work! David Fox-Brenton

A Fine Catalogue of an Important Exhibition: Dialogues of Cezanne and Pissarro

Though this book is a catalogue for an important exhibition traveling to the West Coast after its origin in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, it is so finely produced and contains such important information along with generous examples of the works of two significant artists that it is sure to become a major contribution to the history of art libraries around the world. It is beautiful to peruse, intelligently written and opens a window into one of the more interesting and productive friendships in art history. Meeting in art school in the 1860's Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) and Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) continued a mutually beneficial camaraderie for twenty years, during which time they produced not only beautiful paintings but also defined an important transitional period in art. While many view Pissarro as the echt-Impressionist, and Cézanne as the pioneering Post-Impressionist, essayist Joachim Pissarro's text questions the significance of these preconceived art history monikers in codifying each artist's stance in the overall view of art history. The true significance in the development of their friendship and dialogues about art, as captured in their painting together in Pontoise and Auvers, France, lead to the development of Modernism in painting. Wisely and elegantly designed, this book places works by each artist side by side, illuminating the interplay of the two master painters and allowing the viewer to absorb the similarities as well as the disparities that created such a powerful dialogue and relationship and explores how each artist sought new ways to express the visualized scene before him. This is a very fine monograph, vividly encouraging all art lovers to seek attendance at the exhibition wherever possible. Grady Harp, October 05