Cézanne tried terribly conscientiously by all accounts, but he was a bit of an idiot and said himself he was inept. His reputation as the 'father of modernism' is rather hard to understand, but presumably derived from the opportunistic activities of people like Roger Fry. Another rather bad painter, he fancied himself not only as an 'intellectual' but also as a prosperous gallery owner, and used his verbal skills - which were very influential in London at the time - to promote painters like himself who otherwise would have been laughed at. Fry was also a would-be admirer of Vanessa Bell - sister of the infamous Virginia Woolf - whose husband Clive was busily occupied too in publicizing her garish efforts as "significant form", as if that were something original. Between them, they managed to sell a lot of Cézanne's stuff and convince the buyers that the things were valuable while keeping fat commissions for themselves. That's how art history is written!
Stefan!
[ And this is how it's re-written! -- Fred Ross, ARC Chairman ]
