Paul CĂ©zanne
French, 1839 - 1906
Still Life with Skull (Nature morte au crâne), 1890-1893
Oil on canvas
Skulls appear frequently in the European still-life tradition, serving as reminders of the fleetingness of life. Cézanne tended to avoid such props, however, favoring more ordinary household items like napkins, fruit, and ceramic vessels. It wasn't until the last decade of his life that Cézanne began to include skulls with some regularity—perhaps reflecting a preoccupation with his own mortality. The smudges of orange paint across the eye socket are probably the result of this canvas leaning against another in his Aix-en-Provence studio.
