Last updated: 17 Dec 2024
Inspired by Cézanne's The Card Players
Undated
Brush and paper
Watercolour
Portrait
Impressionism
Original Painting: Cézanne was in his fifties when he undertook a painting campaign devoted to giving memorable form to a subject that inspired the likes of Caravaggio and Chardin. He was determined from the start—as we see in this sturdy Provençal scene—to make it his own. Cézanne carefully crafted this composition from figure studies he had made of local farmhands. Once he had puzzled-out his conception, he continued to fine-tune the poses and positions of the card players, until they—like the four pipes hanging on the wall behind them—each fell perfectly into place.
1. Medium: Watercolor on paper
2. Shapes and objects: Two men sitting at a table, facing each other. Both are wearing hats. There's a dark bottle on the table between them. The men appear to be leaning in, engaged in conversation or some activity. The background suggests an interior space, possibly a bar or café.
3. Colours: Predominantly muted tones. Dark purples, browns, and greys dominate the background. The men's clothing is in shades of green and yellow. The table has an orange-brown hue. The overall palette gives a somewhat somber or atmospheric mood.
4. Narrative: This scene captures a moment of intimate interaction between two men, possibly in a bar or café setting. The leaning postures and focused gazes of the men suggest an intense conversation or perhaps a game (like cards, though none are visible). The bottle on the table implies they might be sharing a drink. There's a sense of secrecy or conspiracy in their body language, enhanced by the dark, moody background. The painting evokes themes of male bonding, social rituals, and the private moments that occur in public spaces.
5. Original Artist: This painting style and subject matter are strongly reminiscent of the work of French Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne, particularly his series of card players. Cézanne created several paintings of peasants playing cards between 1890 and 1896, known collectively as "The Card Players." While Mehrdad Fahimi's painting doesn't show cards explicitly, the composition and mood are very similar to Cézanne's works.
Cézanne's "The Card Players" series is considered one of his most important and influential. The paintings depict Provençal peasants immersed in their game, much like the focused interaction we see in Fahimi's work. Cézanne's original paintings from this series are scattered in major museums around the world, including the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
While Fahimi's technique is distinct, particularly in the use of watercolor and looser brushstrokes, the influence of Cézanne's composition and subject matter is clear in this piece.
Details
Type
artwork
Created At
13 May 2023