Cézanne at the Tate

This review considers the major Cézanne exhibition at the Tate Gallery London, staged from 8th February until 28th April 1995. Rather than focusing exclusively on the artist's work, the piece attempts to place the exhibition in context, exploring the institutional arena of presentation and the social and economic strata to which the retrospective is mainly addressed. To encompass these multiple levels of attention, the essay is based on a journey through the exhibition, seen at the press view on 6th February 1995. The record is intentionally discursive, entwining impressions both of the works and the audience, groups of media professionals moving from room to room in sequence around the show. Further attention is given to the formation of the catalogue, to gain a reasonably complete picture of the event. The mnograph includes further essays on Impressism and Post-Impressionism including studies of Gauguin and Pierre Bonnard exhibited at Tate Nodern. ________________________________________________