Cezanne's Apples: An Overlooked Obsession That Transformed Modern Painting
The exhibition 'Cezanne et nous' at the Grand Palais in Paris, running from September 23, 2026, to January 17, 2027, delves into Paul Cezanne's enduring fascination with apples, which appear in more than 200 of his still lifes. This showcase highlights how Cezanne used apples as a means of artistic experimentation, significantly enhancing the still life genre within modern art. Historian Meyer Shapiro noted that Cezanne's passion may have originated from a youthful encounter with Emile Zola. His intent to captivate through form and color is exemplified in 'Nature morte au tiroir ouvert' (c. 1877-1879). Cezanne's impact resonates in the works of Gauguin, Cubists, and contemporary Pop Art figures like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, as well as modern artists such as Luc Tuymans and Sam Taylor-Wood.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Cezanne et nous' at the Grand Palais, Paris, from September 23, 2026, to January 17, 2027.
- Cezanne's apples appear in over 200 still lifes.
- Historian Meyer Shapiro linked the apple motif to a childhood episode with Emile Zola in his 1968 article.
- Cezanne declared: 'With an apple, I want to astonish Paris.'
- Still life was considered a minor genre since its emergence in 16th-century Italy.
- Cezanne's 'Nature morte au tiroir ouvert' (c. 1877-1879) is held at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.
- Gauguin's 'Nature morte aux pommes' (c. 1891-1904) substitutes apples with toxic manchineel fruits from Tahiti.
- Roy Lichtenstein's 'Still Life with Crystal Bowl' (1974) is at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.
- Sam Taylor-Wood's 2001 video 'Still Life' shows fruit decomposing in accelerated time.
- The exhibition is held at the Grand Palais, 17 avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris.
Entities
Artists
- Paul Cezanne
- Meyer Shapiro
- Emile Zola
- Paul Gauguin
- Émile Bernard
- Georges Braque
- Pablo Picasso
- Maurice de Vlaminck
- Henri Matisse
- Alberto Magnelli
- Giorgio Morandi
- Nicolas de Staël
- Lucian Freud
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Tom Wesselmann
- Andy Warhol
- Luc Tuymans
- Sam Taylor-Wood
- Edward Steichen
- Erwin Blumenfeld
Institutions
- Grand Palais
- Musée d'Orsay
- Revue de l'Art
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Institut d'art contemporain, Villeurbanne
- Pinault Collection
- Musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims
- les Douches la Galerie
- David Zwirner
- Connaissance des Arts
Locations
- Paris
- France
- Aix-en-Provence
- Italy
- Tahiti
- Germany
- New York
- Villeurbanne
- Antwerp
- Reims