Paul Cézanne to Subject of "Portrait of Gustave

Paul Cézanne to Subject of "Portrait of Gustave Geffroy" Re: Fund for Rodin Statue of Balzac!

A 2pp autograph letter in French signed by Post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) as "Paul Cézanne" at the top of the second page. Written in Paris, France on June 1, 1898 on bifold paper. The third and fourth pages are blank. Expected wear including light paper folds and toning. There is a ghost impression of an envelope flap found on the third blank page, along the edge of which is foxed. Else very good to near fine. 5.25" x 8.125." Accompanied by its original transmittal envelope also engrossed by Cézanne. The envelope is postmarked, bears a cancelled stamp, and is neatly letter-opened at top. Provenance: Ex-Noel Goldblatt (ca. 1926-2003) of the famous Goldblatt's Department Store, to a prominent Los Angeles, California collector. Ex-Sotheby's 1979 and then hidden away for 40+ years!

Cézanne addressed this letter to Gustave Geffroy (1855-1926), the journalist and art critic. Translated in full:

"Paris, 1 June 1898

Dear Mr. Geffroy,

I permit myself to address to you my money order of 40 francs in payment of my dues, and of asking you to forward this amount to the committee tasked with receiving memberships. I wasn't able to learn the name of the person between whose hands it was necessary to direct the payment. In my difficulty, I thought I could rely on you. --

I beg you to accept my apologies and my most sincere salutations.

Paul Cézanne."

Gustave Geffroy was one of the earliest champions of the Impressionists. He wrote favorable reviews of Cézanne's work, which had been previously overlooked, concluding, "He is a great teller of truth…he will go to the Louvre." Cézanne, who was touched and flattered, asked Geffroy to pose for a portrait. The pair met daily for three months during the spring and summer of 1895. Cézanne was greatly discouraged with the painting and eventually abandoned it, leaving parts of the face and hands unfinished. Art historians have nevertheless found much inspiration in the resultant "Portrait of Gustave Geffroy." It is on permanent display in the Musée d'Orsay (see attached image.)

Cézanne’s 40 franc subscription was for a fund earmarked for French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), whose plaster cast of Honoré de Balzac, the beloved French novelist, had been recently condemned by critics. Our June 1, 1898 letter is not found among the correspondence included in Alex Danchev’s authoritative translated collection, “The Letters of Paul Cézanne” (Getty Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2013), yet a letter written two weeks earlier, on May 17, 1898, is included (Letter #185). In this letter to the same correspondent, Gustave Geffroy, Cézanne wrote in part: “I am happy to join in the subscription that you kindly told me about, and I subscribe for 40 francs to this list of admirers of Rodin’s genius…” 40 francs is of course the same amount of subscription mentioned in our June 1, 1898 letter.

Cézanne’s subscription offered Rodin both moral and financial support. Rodin had spent seven years working on his sculpture of Balzac, but when it was first exhibited in Paris in 1898, the cast was absolutely pilloried. The Société des Gens de Lettres, the literary organization which had commissioned the Balzac sculpture, refused to accept it, panning it as a shapeless mass. Rodin’s sculpture was controversial because the artist depicted the “essence” of Balzac instead of his physical likeness (with the latter being the traditional criteria for a sculpture.) In response to the public outcry against Rodin’s work, many artists rallied to Rodin’s defense, including Cézanne, Monet, Renoir, and others. In the end, Rodin suspended the collection and returned the money to the subscribers.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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