Still Life with Commode 1887 - 1888

Editor: Here we have Cézanne's "Still Life with Commode," currently housed at the Harvard Art Museums. It has such a domestic feel to it. How does it fit into the narrative of still life painting? Curator: Cézanne challenged traditional still life. The composition, while seemingly simple, is radical. Notice how the commode acts less as a backdrop and more as an active participant. It mirrors the curves of the fruit and the pottery, creating a dialogue between the domestic space and its objects. Editor: So, it's about elevating the ordinary? Curator: Precisely. Cézanne was interested in the politics of seeing, in presenting everyday objects not as passive decorations but as active signifiers within a social space. The painting asks us to consider what we value. Editor: That's a really interesting perspective; I hadn't considered it that way before. Curator: Thinking about the painting's original context, it would have been seen as a bold departure from academic art. Now, it invites us to rethink our own relationships with the objects that surround us.