The Three Skulls - Paul Cezanne

Olivia Shaler Swan Memorial Collection

European Art Modern Art Paintings Prints

"The Three Skulls" by Paul Cezanne (1902/06) Watercolor, with graphite, on ivory wove paper.

Commentary

"The Three Skulls" by Paul Cezanne (1902/06) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Its painted surface guides your eye through color, brushwork, and contrast rather than through narrat ive alone. Themes to notice include watercolor. This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Drawings collection. Paul Cezanne is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Paul Cézanne French, 1839-1906. The work is cataloged within a France cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as watercolor, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Watercolor, with graphite, on ivory wove paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (48 × 62.8 cm (18 15/16 × 24 3/4 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include watercolor. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/80336

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data