- Charisma -
Cezanne knew that he was right. Even before he had put all the pieces together, Cezanne never seemed to walk
off the path, or to have doubts about his work. He distrusted and hated critics, but he had deep faith in
his vision.
That faith - that belief that led him to say as a young man that he planned "to make of
impressionism something solid and durable like the art of the museums." is extremely attractive and daunting.
In almost anyone else, it would ego and bravado. With Cezanne, it was genius and vision and ego. I imagine his
iconoclastic behavior, antisocial tendencies, prickliness, and volatile temper only added to a reputation
as a half-mad genius.
It can be difficult to bear these traits without the genius part; those behaviors often clear the way for a smoother
exploration of the vision. At the same time, I wonder about Cezanne as a man. He loved and was a father, he had some
friendships, he lived amidst the glory of nature, and lived long enough to be able to think 'I told you so.'
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