Paul Cézanne: Portraits

This movie explores the unconventional aspects of his portraiture, the role his portraits play in the development of his radical style and method, and the range and influence of his sitters. Rather than accepting commissions for portraits, Cézanne painted them as part of his ongoing experimentation as he searched for a pictorial language to capture his intense perceptions of the world. He rarely painted people he did not know; instead he portrayed himself, his family, his friends, art-world admirers, and working-class inhabitants of his native Aix-en-Provence with whom he felt an affinity.