The Buffet 1877

Curator: Paul Cézanne’s "The Buffet," created in 1877, presents us with a rather domestic still life. Look closely at how he renders these objects! Editor: Immediately I feel the urge to tidy it all up! The painting's palette is muted, the fruit scattered, the linen slightly crumpled. But then, the colours hum a certain harmony, like objects waiting for their use. Curator: Exactly! Cézanne used oil paint on canvas, building up texture with visible impasto. Think about the role of these everyday objects. Were they easily available, costly? Consumption was clearly becoming a subject for artists at that time, not just luxury displays. Editor: You know, there is something solid, palpable, about it, that I like very much. Each piece seems to exist both in its own right and in collaboration with the others, echoing his way of perceiving depth and solidity on a 2D plane. Curator: Right, and consider his perspective—that tilting tabletop! There’s a subtle challenge to traditional notions of representation here. He focuses more on conveying sensory experience through this arrangement of produced things than simple, mimetic illusion. Editor: It's like he is deconstructing the very idea of a still life! Letting its real forms emerge. Curator: Precisely! It questions artistic conventions about idealising representation and prompts us to reflect upon our own relation with these objects, the social context behind consuming wine, food and table-ware. It's interesting that there's nothing lavish, extravagant, in sight: just simple materials, modest fruits and everyday ware for the table. Editor: I almost smell those oranges! Thinking about his process is rewarding. A lot like life itself! Curator: Indeed. Looking at “The Buffet”, we see much more than just painted objects, we are provided with some means to reconsider everyday material culture.