Cezanne at the Tate: A View from the Enclosure

This review considers the major Cezanne exhibition at the Tate Gallery London, staged from 8th February until 28th April 1996. Rather than focusing exclusively on the artist’s work, the piece attempts to place the exhibition in context, exploring the institutional arena of presentation and the social and economic strata to which the retrospective is mainly addressed. To encompass these multiple levels of attention, the essay is based on a journey through the exhibition, seen at the press view on Tuesday 6th February 1996. The record is intentionally discursive, entwining impressions both of the works and the audience, groups of media professionals moving from room to room in sequence around the show. Further attention is given to the formulation of the catalogue, to gain a reasonably complete picture of the event.

Table of Contents

Rooms One and Two: beginnings of the artist 6; The Art and the Display 8; The Press View 10; Rooms Three and Four:landscapes of the middle period 14; A visitor inspects Cezanne 17; A self portrait: Cezanne in the mirror 20; Cezanne and the Mont Saint Victoire: The crystal treasure 28

Author Biography

NP James studied painting with Frank Auerbach and Keith Vaughan at the Slade School of Art. In 1972 he initiated The Gallery, 65a Lisson Street, staging projects between artists until 1978. He worked as a house-writer on the Dictionary of Art (Macmillan London & New York) contributing over eighty entries. With Anna Douglas he co-authored Artists Stories (AN Publications 1996) . With Sarah Batiste he edited Cv Journal of Art & Crafts 1988-92, forming Cv Publications in 1992 and Cv/Visual Arts Research in 1995. He contributed articles to Art Monthly, Artists Newsletter and weekly reviews to What’s On In London. He taught in a variety of schools and adult education institutes from 1970, also lecturing on postmodern culture at Middlesex University.