Marie-Hélène Lafon's Cézanne Novel Gives Voice to the Artist's Family

Marie-Hélène Lafon, winner of the 2020 Prix Renaudot for 'Histoire du fils', published 'Cézanne, Des toits rouges sur la mer bleue' with Flammarion in 2023. The 163-page novel explores the biography of Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) through the perspectives of his father, mother, and wife, using letters and research to reveal how his family perceived him. Lafon, a former classics teacher, gives voice to each family member: the father, who posed for 'Louis Cézanne lisant' (1866); the mother, who recalls 'Jeune fille au piano – Ouverture de Tannhaüser' (1869–1870); and Hortense Fiquet, the painter's wife, who reflects on the twenty portraits Cézanne made of her. The book examines Cézanne's artistic technique—his use of color modulation, distortion of symmetry, and focus on concrete perception—and draws parallels between his painting and Lafon's literary portraiture. The author invents the verb 'cézanner' to describe her process of writing like Cézanne painted.