Bulletin 19, 1972

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Cézanne, Vollard, and Lithography: The Ottawa Maquette for the "Large Bathers" Colour Lithograph

by Douglas W. Druick

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Addendum

I Jean Leymarie and Michel Melot, Les gravures des impressionnistes: Manet, Pissaro, Renoir, Cézanne, Sisley, oeuvre complet. Catalogue by Michel Melot. (Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques,1971).

Aside from the publication date of the Small Bathers, no dates are assigned to the lithographs. The question of the method of execution is not introduced in the consideration of each print.

In the Large Bathers (Quatre baigneurs, cat. no. 6), the existence of more than one colour state is not mentioned. In the Self-Portrait (Cézanne au beret devant un chevalet, cat. no. 7), it is maintained that "il existe un tirage en couleurs." However, only the lithograph in black is reproduced and no location is given for an example of a colour impression. In the Small Bathers (Les six baigneurs, ou Les petits baigneurs, cat. no. 8), described in the catalogue as a "lithographie en couleur," no mention is made of the lithograph in black. In the preface, M. Leymarie notes the presence "d'un dessin préparatoire colorié par Cézanne (découverte qui a été faite et communiqué par M. John Rewald)...." Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, (cat. no. 9), a work not included by Venturi, and indicated by Johnson as a work after Cézanne, executed posthumously by Clot, is here included with the lithographs in the preparation of which Cézanne definitely had a hand. This work is also included in Jean Adhémar, Inventaire du fonds français après 1800, vol. 4 (Paris: Bibliothèque nationale, 1949).

II Jean Cherpin, L'oeuvre gravé de Cézanne (Marseille: Arts et livres de Provence, 1972, Bulletin no. 82).

Since the book was published in an extremely small edition, I have outlined the author's conclusions in greater detail than would otherwise have been necessary.

Cherpin indicates that the print of the Small Bathers (cat. no. 6, 1897) exists in two states, the first in black and the second in colour, but notes the second as "ayant fait l'objet de deux tirages." The "deux tirages" correspond to the colour print before and after the reduction (from 297 x 356 cm to 235 x 294 cm) noted by Goriany. Like the latter, Cherpin does not comment on the differences in the colour stones which accompanied the reduction.

Cherpin describes both the Large Bathers and the Small Bathers as" dessinées sur pierre quant au trait, traitées à l'aquarelle quant à la couleur" (p. 58). He does not, however, give evidence in support of this assertion with regard to the Large Bathers. On the other hand, he has discovered that some of the impressions of the first state of the Small Bathers bear a printed signature in the lower right margin. This is "hésitante, mal assurée, les premières lettres serrées les unes contre les autres" (pp. 67, 68, repr. p. 49). His assumption that this results from the fact that Cézanne wrote directly on the stone is undoubtedly correct and is further evidence that the Small Bathers was executed directly on the stone.

Cherpin deduces three states for the Large Bathers print (cat. no. 7). His order differs from that of the author since he describes the state without the inscription in the stone as the second state, and that with the inscription as the third state. The only difference he notes between second and third states is the inscription, He is seemingly unaware that a different set of stones was used in the colour printing of each state and suggests rather that it is primarily the inscription, which he regards as having involved an additional printing, which distinguishes the two colour states. Since the impressions in black (i.e. first state) do not bear the inscription, he seems to have disregarded the possibility of getting both the inscription and the image onto the same stone and so printing them simultaneously, With regard to the inscription he notes: "Il y aurait donc en un passage special en noir pendant ou après les pierres de couleurs, et pour quelques-unes des épreuves seulement.

Evidently Cherpin is unaware that there are several impressions of the first state heightened with watercolour, for he notes: "L'épreuve en noir, aquarellée par Cézanne pour servir de modèle à Clot, provenant de la collection Vollard, fut exposée en 1953 [he footnotes the exhibition "Les deux écritures," Galerie Guiot, Paris, February-March 1953, no. 73]. Elle appartiendrait maintenant au Musée d'Ottawa." Thus he confuses the maquette in the collection of Mrs Marc Steinberg with that in the National Gallery of Canada, Cherpin describes the first state as rare and maintains that the second and third states each exist in less than 100 impressions.

As in the case of the present author, Cherpin has not come upon any impression of the Self-Portrait (cat. no.8, approx. 1898-1900) printed in colour. He does not indicate, however, why he maintains Venturi's dating of this print. While he does introduce some interesting information, he unfortunately does not specify his source: "À la demande de Vol lard, il y eut un tirage en gris par Auguste Clot, en 1914, à 100 / 125 épreuves, interrompu par la guerre - peut-être en vue d'un tirage couleur non éxécuté - le tirage fut repris en 1920, en noir, à 100 / 125 épreuves."

Following both Adhémar and Leymarie-Melot, Cherpin includes Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe, (cat. no 9) in his catalogue of works by Cézanne, While he does not assign a date to the work, he notes: "Le tirage de cette lithographie fut fait dans l'atelier de Clot, pendant l'été de 1914, par le fils d'Auguste Clot, André Clot,....en l'absence des ouvriers pressiers, mobilisés et partis aux Armées (précision donné par André Clot en 1956)."

While there is no reason to doubt this information, it sheds no light on the rôle that Cézanne played in the execution of the print. A letter from Vollard to Clot dated "Paris le 4 8re 1912" makes it clear that the project for the lithograph was conceived several years after Cézanne's death, and that it was the painting of the same title (V. 377) in Vollard's collection that served exclusively as the maquette. (I am endebted to M. Jean Adhémar, Cabinet des Estampes, Bibliothèque nationale, Paris, for having kindly made this letter available to me). Printed without the artist's knowledge or participation, the lithograph is purely reproductive. As such, it should not be classed with the original prints.

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