28. Oct. 2017
11. Feb. 2018

Exhibition

Cézanne’s Towel

Discover the artist at the Junge Kunsthalle


Summary

A discovery of the chameleonic motifs by the French painter on exhibition at Junge Kunsthalle

Starting off with a watercolour which shows a towel on the rack of a dressing table, the exhibition at the Junge Kunsthalle looks at the fluid transitions between motifs in the artist’s works.

Cézannes Gemälde "Montagne Sainte-Victoire": Im Vordergrund sieht man eine Landschaft und im Hintergrund einen Berg. Die Farbgebung ist blau und beige.
Paul Cézanne: Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1890–1895 © Scottish National Gallery Edinburgh

In one painting, for example, what at first glance appears to be a jacket casually discarded on a chair can, on a second and third look, transforms into a craggy landscape: the folds in the cloth evoke valleys in an alpine range, while the jacket viewed as a whole resembles a furrowed massif, so that you begin to wonder whether this is a still life or a landscape.

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The exhibition at the Junge Kunsthalle invites young visitors to playfully discover this fluidity of forms, a special characteristic of Cézanne’s works, and opens up a view on his humorous approach to art. Through experiments, interactive games, and changes in perspective, children and teenagers can experience for themselves how the artist excelled in metamorphosing his subjects. Moreover, they can draw, use watercolours, and paint in the workshops on the upper floor, taking their inspiration from works by Cézanne.

The exhibition is complemented by works of the Dutch photographer Elmer de Haas which indicate the ambiguity in Cézanne’s art. The simultaneous presentation of the different perspectives chosen by the two artists generates a fascinating dialogue across the centuries.