Cezanne's Portraits of His Wife-Defy Her Being the Love of His Life

Madame Cezanne is the subject of the Paul Cezanne (b. France 1839-1906) exhibit @ the MET.  Recognized for his landscape paintings, Cezanne produced a prolific body of still life paintings & portraits.  The greater number of Cezanne's portraits were of his wife, Hortense.  A picture may paint a thousand words, perhaps more than the amount of words exchanged between Cezanne & his estranged wife.  For more than 20 years, Cezanne used Hortense as his model.  After Hortense gave birth to  Cezanne's only child, Paul Jr. they were married.  Cezanne, being a devout Roman Catholic remained married to Cezanne although they lived apart.  Hortense was not embraced by Cezanne's family or friends.  Financial constraints and a shortage of available models availed Hortense to her husband's work.  The  24 oil paintings vary greatly with settings & painting styles but Hortense's rigid expression remained consistent.  Her expressions appear remote and unfriendly.  Her hair is pulled back in a severe style except for a very young portrait with her hair loose & one from '1892.  In 1902, Cezanne made Paul Jr. his sole benefactor.  Cezanne's exquisite paintings of his wife do not portray a model of happy life.