Over the years I have read many books and articles on the artist, Paul Cezanne (1839-1906.) I continue to be surprised that one of my favorite Cezanne texts, Dore Ashton’s essay “Cezanne in the Shadow of Frenhofer,” is not widely known. I am not an art historian, but I don’t understand why Ashton’s insightful piece is not found in the bibliographies of other scholarly works on Cezanne. Does it simply “fly under the radar” of that scholarship?
Ashton, who died in in 2017, was an impressive writer, scholar, and teacher, with many publications and awards during a lengthy career. Her most significant work is probably her writing on Abstract Expressionism and the New York school. Ashton published A Fable of Modern Art in 1980; the fable she traces through the histories of 19th and early 20th century French art is Balzac’s The Unknown Masterpiece, from 1831. While Balzac’s fable may also “fly under the radar,” Ashton highlights how well its characters were known among many painters, including Cezanne and Picasso.
I have read her chapter on Cezanne several times, over several decades, and each reading brings more dimension to her insights. Ashton prioritizes Cezanne’s intellectual life and uncovers a foundation for the artist’s uncertainty and anxiety, in a way that most other commentators don’t, because she shows how his keen knowledge of Balzac, Baudelaire, and the poet, Alfred de Vigny was central to his conceptual framework. After one reads Ashton’s careful analysis, the oft-cited aspects of “temperament,” “anxiety,” “attention” or “observation,” “belle formule,” and “certainty” have a richer meaning.
One more thing: in my opinion, Ashton was a splendid writer, demonstrating the “science” and “art” of her subject matter and craft. A Fable of Modern Art is not a quick read, but neither is it a ponderous read. I marvel at the pace of her writing and at its graceful movement. You can find a copy of the book on Amazon or online here.