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Course: The J. Paul Getty Museum > Unit 2
Lesson 2: DrawingsPaul Cézanne's approach to watercolor
Learn how watercolors are created and how Paul Cézanne applied his unique approach to the medium by using pencil lines as an active part of composition, as exemplified by his Still Life. Created by Getty Museum.
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- Is watercolor fairly difficult to master.(2 votes)
- It all depends on what you are trying to paint. I can do some basic art with watercolors, but I could never do something this complicated. : )(4 votes)
- Dear KhanAcademy Team, this whole video is blocked on copyright grounds. Could you please do something so we can benefit from the content? Thanks.(3 votes)
- I was able to access it, video and sound, without trouble from Taiwan at 7AM on April 8. (which would be 7 PM EDT on April 7 in New York) there was no copyright issue.(1 vote)
- The audio track has been muted due to copyright reasons.(2 votes)
- As of December 2017, YouTube is still muting this Getty Museum video both on Khan Academy and on YouTube stating "Audio track removed due to copyright claim." Can something be done about this? Even with closed captioning, this video is not as effective without sound. The videos on this site, especially the Arthistory videos from Dr. Zucker and Dr. Harris are the main reason I visit this site. There are numerous places we can read about art, including our textbooks, but there are few places where we can get quality videos about art. It is a great way to use more of our senses to learn and better retain information. Thank you!(1 vote)
- When and why did water colors start to become popular with artists? Why not keep using oil on canvas, or something earlier? At most I got https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_colors
If anyone has any info or good links on the history of paint materials and theories behind their discovery and popularity through the ages please share.(2 votes) - Who are the narrators in this video? I want to reference it in a narrative; however, without the narrators' names, I feel the narrative is weak.(1 vote)
Video transcript
- [Voiceover] Watercolor,
it's a fascinating medium, in that the color and the working of it make it look absolutely spontaneous, and, in fact, the difficulty
of it is extraordinary. ("Comptine d'un autre été,
l'après-midi" by Yann Tiersen) - [Voiceover] The great American painter, John Singer Sargent, described watercolor as an act of making the best
of an impending disaster. The fluid pigment can never
be completely controlled. An undesired color or
mark cannot be removed. New layers of color transform
those already on the surface, and the brilliance of the white paper must also be considered. - [Voiceover] A certain
point, it's too much. At a certain point, you have ruined it, and the decision to stop is
a critical aspect of this. - [Voiceover] A watercolor can
never hide how it was made. Let's look through the
layers and trace Cezanne's unique working process. Traditionally, an artist filled in a pencil sketch with color wash. But in Cezanne's watercolors, pencil lines actually go over the paint. Pencil is an active part
of the overall composition. The white paper beneath
also plays a critical role. Notice how the tablecloth,
napkin and pitcher are almost entirely
defined by the white paper. This white center holds together
the ambitious composition, and imparts light across the surface. The least-painted surface creates the most powerful visual presence. Watercolorists tend to apply
colors in quick succession, allowing them to pool and mix, but Cezanne allowed each color to dry before adding other colors. The tapestry shows off this
time-consuming technique. Colors hover kaleidoscopically
over and under each other. Cezanne's approach took
its toll on the artist. In 1904, Cezanne wrote,
"I progress very slowly, "for nature reveals herself
to me in very complex ways." ("Comptine d'un autre été,
l'après-midi" by Yann Tiersen)