This painting by Post-Impressionist Paul Cézanne is a still life of a skull resting atop a table. The skull is at center, propped upright by a block or book at its base. The background and table are abstract, with Cézanne focusing more detail on the central subject. This painting is one of eight Cézannes bequeathed by Charles A. Loeser after his death in 1928 to the President of the United States and all his future successors. Though prolific during his lifetime, Cézanne's art did not receive much recognition or acclaim until after his death, when his influence was cited by younger artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso who moved away from the Impressionist style into new and different modes of painting.
This painting by Post-Impressionist Paul Cézanne is a still life of a skull resting atop a table. The skull is at center, propped upright by a block or book at its base. The background and table are abstract, with Cézanne focusing more detail on the central subject. This painting is one of eight Cézannes bequeathed by Charles A. Loeser after his death in 1928 to the President of the United States and all his future successors. Though prolific during his lifetime, Cézanne's art did not receive much recognition or acclaim until after his death, when his influence was cited by younger artists such as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso who moved away from the Impressionist style into new and different modes of painting.
