Comparing the films 'Cézanne and I' and 'The Life of Émile Zola': The Path of Friendship, Art, and Integrity.

Paul Cézanne, a representative Post-Impressionist painter, was an artist who turned the weaknesses of traditional techniques to his advantage, developing a unique style of multi-perspective and color expression. In his solitude, he faced objects themselves, expressing time and presence through brushstrokes and color. This approach is credited with laying the foundation for modern painting.

Basic Information

• Year of birth: 1839
• Place of birth: Aix-en-Provence, France
• Father: Originally a hatter, later successful in banking
• Year of death: 1910

Characteristics of Painting Style

1. Incompleteness of traditional realism
• He could not faithfully depict perspective or the texture of objects.
• He painted without distinguishing between the softness of cloth and the hardness of objects, rendering them flatly.

2. Unique methods of expression
• He expressed three-dimensionality through the application of color rather than shading.
• He sometimes deformed the shapes of bodies and objects, unconstrained by the rules of perspective or drawing.
• Introduction of multiple perspectives: By incorporating different viewpoints into the same frame—the desk from above, the fruit from the side, and the bottle from an angle—he prioritized compositional harmony.

3. Philosophy of his work
• He focused on faithfully depicting the subject itself, without regard for the audience or critical evaluation.
• He pursued a "lasting impression" through precise brushwork and layering of colors.
• In his landscapes and portraits, he strongly evokes the "presence" and "duration of time" of objects and people.

Characteristics of his paintings

Precise brushwork, vertical and heavy composition, expression of the inner structure of objects and people, and a canvas that makes one feel the duration of time.
He did not appeal to the viewer, but was thorough in painting the subject itself.

Now, the painter Cézanne and the writer Émile Zola were bound by a mysterious friendship: a significant bond that would influence their later lives and creative activities.To summarize briefly, it is as follows.

1. Childhood and friendship

• While Cézanne was growing up happily in Aix as the son of a banker, Émile Zola moved to Aix after losing his father. A friendship was formed between the two at the local Bourbon Middle School when Cézanne helped Zola, who was being bullied.

2. Awakening to art and the decision to go to Paris

• During middle school, Cézanne won a prize at the municipal drawing school. Encouraged by Zola, he aspired to become a painter. • Cézanne's father, wanting him to be his successor in the banking business, strongly opposed his ambition to be a painter. At the age of 21, he painted at his father's villa to prove his talent. This led to permission to study in Paris and enroll in the National School of Fine Arts.

3. Friendship and creative activities

• Zola began his writing career in Paris. They encouraged each other through letters. • Cézanne immersed himself in painting in solitude and established his own unique style.

4. The breakdown of friendship and its aftermath • Cézanne was outraged when Zola published 'The Masterpiece,' which used him as a model, and their relationship was severed thereafter.

• Cézanne (though he was able to focus on painting without worrying about food) only gained limited recognition during his lifetime, becoming the 'father of modern art' after his death. Meanwhile, Zola gained fame as a central figure in naturalist literature.

The two would eventually have a falling out in their later years, so let's compare two films: 'Cézanne and I' (Cézanne et Moi, 2016) and 'The Life of Emile Zola' (1937) that depict the events leading up to that.

'Cézanne and I' and 'The Life of Emile Zola'—Two Portraits of Friendship and Estrangement

I. Differences in Narrative Structure (Summary)

'Cézanne and I' focuses on the relationship between Cézanne and Zola from their boyhood in Aix-en-Provence to their later years, depicting the 'creation and collapse of friendship' in a back-and-forth manner. The timeline is not linear but employs a retrospective montage, a structure that highlights the divergence in their respective views on art and life through the dialogue between the successful Zola and the solitary painter Cézanne.
On the other hand, 'The Life of Emile Zola' centers on Zola's social and political life—particularly his intervention in the 'Dreyfus Affair'—and positions his relationship with Cézanne as its 'origin point.' In other words, Cézanne is merely depicted as the starting point for Zola's personal development and artistic conscience, and the breakdown of their friendship itself does not become the center of the story.

II. Contrast in Artistic Views and Philosophy

'Cézanne and I' is depicted from the perspective of both Zola and Cézanne, though perhaps leaning more toward Cézanne.
Under Cézanne's belief that art is a 'testimony of life' rooted in the truth of sensation rather than ideas, the themes are the loneliness of art, the collapse of friendship, and the equivalence of creation and destruction, with an intimate and introspective tone. It unfolds as a dialogue between the two, with Cézanne as the older brother figure and Zola as the younger.

'The Life of Emile Zola' is depicted from Zola's perspective.
Under Zola's belief that art is an educational activity involving social responsibility, the themes are the victory of conscience and the mission of the intellectual, with a grand and epic tone. It unfolds as a social biographical film.

Here, 'Cézanne and I' thoroughly explores Cézanne's stance of 'living for art,' focusing on the process by which their friendship is severed by Zola's novel 'The Masterpiece' (L’Œuvre).
In contrast, in 'The Life of Emile Zola,' this incident is treated as a scene of Zola's awakening as a conscientious writer, and Cézanne's suffering is depicted only as a secondary matter.

III. Structure of Timeline and Perspective

In 'Cézanne and I,' the story unfolds in a retrospective, non-linear manner (boyhood ⇄ later years) from the two's dialogic perspective (bidirectional). The climax is their estrangement after the publication of Zola's 'The Masterpiece.'
The argument between Cézanne and Zola after the publication of 'The Masterpiece' is interesting. Is art something that depicts humans by compromising with social reality, or is it a solitary act of pursuing truth by rejecting reality? Zola believes in 'art within society,' while Cézanne believes in 'art beyond society.' As they reach an early old age, this difference in their values is laid bare.

'The Life of Emile Zola' unfolds in a linear fashion (youth → success → social mission) from a Zola-centric perspective (unidirectional). The climax is the defense speech in the Dreyfus Affair.

The time handling in 'Cézanne and I' is a structure that recalls the memory of friendship into the 'present,' and the rumination of emotions itself becomes the form of the drama. In contrast, 'The Life of Emile Zola' is structured by accumulating Zola's biographical achievements in chronological order, and the friendship with Cézanne is digested as a prologue to his inner life.

IV. Conclusion — Two Forms of 'Conscience'

What both works have in common is the process by which an artist's conscience clashes with society and reality.
However, the direction of their expression is contrasting.
While 'The Life of Emile Zola' is a film that celebrates 'public conscience' (engagement), 'Cézanne and I' has 'private integrity' (intégrité) as its theme.
When Zola wielded his pen toward society, Cézanne sought the universe within his canvas.
The two works, which project that turning point, visualize the fundamental conflict between knowledge and emotion, and words and painting, in French art through their respective forms.