Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert, the Artist's Uncle

Paul Cézanne

Oil on canvas

Metropolitan Museum of Art

A striking early portrait by Paul Cézanne, this work depicts his uncle Dominique posed theatrically in a monk-like white robe and a blue turban-style cap, his dark beard and penetrating gaze anchoring the composition. Cézanne applied paint thickly with a palette knife, building the robe and background in bold, slashing strokes that reveal his youthful, almost rebellious departure from academic smoothness toward raw physical presence. Painted during a period when Cézanne used his uncle as a willing and patient model for numerous costume studies, this canvas captures the artist's restless experimentation just before he moved toward the structured forms that would define his mature work. Its dramatic contrasts of black, cream, and dusky blue make it a commanding, conversation-starting presence on any wall.