Skull and Book

ca. 1885

Paul Cézanne French, 1839-1906

Not On View

Image Only Image + Details All Images High Resolution TIFF Metadata

About the Artwork

Please note: This section is empty
Markings

Please note: This section is empty

This section contains information about signatures, inscriptions and/or markings an object may have.
Provenance

Please note: This section is empty

Provenance is a record of an object's ownership. We are continually researching and updating this information to show a more accurate record and to ensure that this object was ethically and legally obtained.

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Published References

Please note: This section is empty

We regularly update our object record as new research and findings emerge, and we welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.
Catalogue Raisonné

Please note: This section is empty

A catalogue raisonné is an annotated listing of artworks created by an artist across different media.
Credit Line for Reproduction

Please note: This section is empty

The credit line includes information about the object, such as the artist, title, date, and medium. Also listed is its ownership, the manner in which it was acquired, and its accession number. This information must be cited alongside the object whenever it is shown or reproduced.

About the Artwork

Cezanne often made skulls the centerpiece of his compositions. Although one might interpret them as references to themes of death and the transience of life, It is more likely that Cezanne was interested in them purely as form. Skulls were common props in 19th-century artists' studios. The ones that Cezanne painted can still be seen today on a shelf in his studio outside of Aix-en-Provence in southern France. For Cezanne watercolor was not merely an accessory to oil painting but an independent medium. During the final years of his life, he concentrated more and more on producing watercolors. Here, black chalk defines the basic elements of the composition, and watercolor strengthens outlines and models form. The skull is given volume with green, yellow, and purplish-gray washes.

Title Skull and Book

Artwork Date ca. 1885

Artist Paul Cézanne

Life Dates 1839-1906

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. French

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Watercolor over black chalk on laid paper

Dimensions Sheet: 9 1/4 × 12 3/16 inches (23.5 × 31 cm) Framed: 18 1/4 inches × 24 1/4 inches × 1 inches (46.4 × 61.6 × 2.5 cm)

Classification Drawings

Department Prints, Drawings & Photographs

Credit Bequest of John S. Newberry

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 65.139

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

Ambroise Vollard

Chester Beatty

Mr. Walter Feischenfelt (Zurich, Switzerland)

John S. Newberry (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

1965-present, bequest to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

Please note: This section is empty

The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

Suggest Feedback