Gustave Boyer (b. 1840) in a Straw Hat
1870–71
Medium
Oil on paper, laid down on canvas
Dimensions
21 5/8 x 15 1/4 in. (54.9 x 38.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
29.100.65
Tags
About this artwork
This portrait depicts Gustave Boyer, Paul Cézanne's boyhood friend and lawyer, wearing a distinctive straw hat that casts a shadow upon his forehead. Painted between 1870 and 1871, the work shows the sitter in three-quarter view with prominent mutton-chop sideburns. Early 20th-century scholars incorrectly identified the subject as Cézanne himself, though Boyer sat for two other portraits around the same period. The painterly surface of this canvas, the liberal use of black and gray, and the bold...
About the Artist
Paul Cézanne · 1839–1906
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) stands as one of the most influential figures in the history of modern art, often called the "Father of Modern Art" for his revolutionary approach to form, color, and pictorial space. Born in Aix-en-Provence to a wealthy banker who discouraged artistic pursuits, Cézanne rejected a legal career to pursue painting, though he remained financially dependent on his family until...