Reviews

This exemplary exhibition catalogue, published in conjunction with a major international Cézanne retrospective, is a handsome tribute to the artist who revolutionized modern painting. The 258 color and 350 black-and-white reproductions of Cézanne's (1839-1906) oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and sketchbook pages are splendid, and they are accompanied by lucid, insightful com- mentaries, authoritative yet refreshingly devoid of scholarly pretension. Many of the painter's own statements on art are included, as are excerpts from the writings of critics and art historians who have assessed his work from 1865 to the present. There is also an extensive chronology of the artist's life. Cachin is president of the National Museums of France; Cahn is archivist of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris; Loyrette is director of the Musée d'Orsay and Rishel is senior curator of European painting before 1900 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. BOMC selection. (May)

In the catalog to the Cézanne exhibition showing in Paris, London, and Philadelphia, Director of the Musées de France Cachin, Philadelphia Museum of Art curator Joseph J. Rishel, and staff at the Musée d'Orsay have taken great care in presenting the multifaceted and enigmatic genius. The bulk of the book is taken up by over 175 color and many black-and-white reproductions of every piece in the show, segmented by decade and accompanied by informative essays authored by organizing committee members. The authors also provide a glimpse of the artist through his own words as well as many anecdotal commentaries and work by historical figures who knew him. The development of Cézanne criticism is briefly traced from its early days to its present-day esteem for the artist. The chronology is detailed, illustrated, and authoritative. The book is a prelude to John Rewald's forthcoming and much-awaited The Paintings of Paul Cézanne: A Catalogue Raisonée (Abrams, 1996). As such, and as a record of the long overdue, large-scale retrospective, it is a worthwhile addition to all modern art and comprehensive collections.‘Ellen Bates, New York Charles Rennie Mackintosh.