The Easel

19th June 2018

John Elderfield with Phong Bui

Reflections on Cézanne as a portraitist. These works were his own initiative – rather than commissions – where he was trying to work through ideas and issues. “There is a point at which you feel some works just got away from him. But I do not think that Cézanne was in pursuit of perfection. It was rather a pursuit of order, which acknowledged the existence of the unordered.”

12th June 2018

Restless Violet Shadows

What made the Impressionists so distinctive? Many things, but what upset their critics the most was their use of violet. Violet differentiated, which was welcome. More importantly, though, they were changing “landscapes into lightscapes”, painting the air between painter and object. ““I have finally discovered the true color of the atmosphere,” [boasted] Manet “It is violet.””