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The Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings of Paul Cezanne
An Online Catalogue Raisonné under the Direction of Société Paul Cezanne
(Formerly directed by Walter Feilchenfeldt, Jayne Warman and David Nash)
Catalogue entry
FWN 874
Pyramide de crânes
1898–1900
Alternate titles: Pyramid of Skulls; Totenköpfe
Rewald (822): 1898–1900; Venturi revised: 1900–1904; Venturi (753): c.1900; Other: c.1898
Oil on canvas
15 3/8 x 18 5/16 in. (39 x 46.5 cm)
Private collection
Provenance
Ambroise Vollard, Paris;
Estate of Ambroise Vollard, Paris
Walter and Marianne Feilchenfeldt, Zurich (1953)
Private collection
Exhibition History
1950 Zurich
Kunsthaus, Zurich, Europäische Kunst, 13. bis 20. Jahrhundert, June 6–August 13, 1950, listed p. 26, as Totenköpfe, c. 1900, lent by Private collection.1956 Zurich
Kunsthaus, Zurich, Paul Cézanne, August 22–October 7, 1956, no. 79, lent by Private collection.1957 Recklinghausen
Städtische Kunsthalle, Recklinghausen, Germany, Verkannte Kunst, June 16–July 31, 1957, no. 23, ill., as Totenköpfe, lent by Frau Dr. W. Feilchenfeldt, Zurich.1961 Vienna
Österreichische Galerie, Belvedere, Vienna, Paul Cézanne, April 14–June 18, 1961, no. 38, pl. 25.1961 Aix-en-Provence
Pavillon de Vendôme, Aix-en-Provence, France, Exposition Cézanne: Tableaux, Aquarelles, Dessins, July 1–August 15, 1961, no. 16, pl. 12.1974 Tokyo and traveling
National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Cézanne, March 30–May 19, 1974, no. 50. Traveled to: Municipal Museum, Kyoto, Japan, June 1–July 17, 1974; Cultural Center, Fukuoka, Japan, July 24–August 18, 1974.1977–78 New York and traveling
The Museum of Modern Art, New York and Reunion des Musees Nationaux, Paris, France, Cézanne: The Late Work, October 7, 1977–January 3, 1978, no. 30, pl. 157. Traveled to: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, January 26–March 19, 1978; Grand Palais, Paris, Cezanne: Les dernières années (1895–1906), April 20–July 23, 1978 (see Paris 1978a for a separate listing because the catalogue numbers are different from the two American venues).1978a Paris
Grand Palais, Paris, Cézanne: Les dernières années (1895–1906), April 20–July 23, 1978, no. 25, ill.1993 Tübingen
Kunsthalle, Tübingen, Germany, Cézanne Gemälde, January 16–May 2, 1993, no. 87, ill.1995–96 Paris and traveling
Grand Palais, Paris, Cézanne, September 26, 1995–January 14, 1996, no. 212, ill. Traveled to: Tate Gallery, London, February 8–April 28, 1996; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, May 26–September 1, 1996.2001–02 Washington, D.C. and traveling
Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., Impressionist Still Life, September 22, 2001–January 13, 2002, pp. 192, 194, pl. 91, as Pyramid of Skulls, lent by Private collection. Traveled to: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, February 17–June 9, 2002.2004–05 Essen
Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany, Cézanne: Aufbruch in die Moderne, September 18, 2004–January 16, 2005, listed p. 233, ill. pp. 111 and 214, as Pyramide de crânes.2006 Washington, D.C. and traveling
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Cézanne in Provence, January 29–May 7, 2006, no. 151, ill. shown in Washington only. Traveled to: Musée Granet, Aix-en-Provence, France, June 9–September 17, 2006.2006–07 Zurich
Kunsthaus, Zurich, Hommage à Cézanne, November 30, 2006–February 11, 2007, no no., as Pyramide de crânes, c. 1898/1900, lent by Private collection.2008 Humlebæk
Louisiana Museum of Art, Humlebæk, Denmark, Cézanne & Giacometti: Paths of Doubt, February 20–June 29, 2008, no. 48, ill. p. 195, as Pyramide de crânes, lent by Private Collection.2009 Philadelphia
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Cézanne and Beyond, February 26–May 17, 2009, pl. 114, p. 325 (dated c. 1898), as Pyramide de crânes.2017–18 Karlsruhe
Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, Germany, Cézanne - Metamorphosen, October 28, 2017–February 11, 2018, no. 63, ill.Published References
Dormoy 1931
Dormoy, Marie. "Quelques tableaux de la collection particulière Ambroise Vollard." Formes: revue internationale des arts plastiques, no. 17 (September 1931), ill. between pp. 122 and 113.Venturi 1936b
Venturi, Lionello. Cézanne: Son Art, Son Oeuvre. Paris: Editions Paul Rosenberg, 1936, no. 753, ill. vol. II, as Pyramide de crânes.Beucken 1955
Beucken, Jean de. Un portrait de Cézanne. Paris: Gallimard, [1955], p. 296.Sutton 1974
Sutton, Denys. "The Paradoxes of Cézanne." Apollo (London) 100, no. 150 (August 1974), fig. 13 p. 105.Bourges 1977
Bourges, Marianne R. Cézanne en son atelier. Aix-en-Provence: Ville d'Aix-en-Provence, 1977, ill.Rewald 1986b
Rewald, John. Cézanne: A Biography. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1986, p. 264, ill.Kendall 1988
Kendall, Richard, ed. Cézanne: By Himself. London: Macdonald, 1988, p. 251, ill.Verdi 1992
Verdi, Richard. Cézanne. London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 1992, p. 198, fig. 175.Kitschen 1995
Kitschen, Friederike. Cézanne: Stilleben. Ostfildern-Ruit: Verlag Gerd Hatje, 1995, fig. 61.Sollers 1995
Sollers, Philippe. Le Paradis de Cézanne. Paris: Gallimard, 1995, p. 26, ill.Cahn 1995b
Cahn, Isabelle. Paul Cézanne. Paris: Somogy Editions d'Art, 1995, p. 105, ill.Rewald 1996
Rewald, John. The Paintings of Paul Cézanne, A Catalogue Raisonné, 2 vols. In Collaboration with Walter Feilchenfeldt and Jayne Warman. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996, no. 822, ill. vol. 2, as Pyramide de crânes.Smith 1996
Smith, Paul. Interpreting Cézanne. London: Tate Publishing, 1996, p. 56, fig. 45, as Pyramid of Skulls.Benesch 2000
Benesch, Evelyn. "From the Incomplete to the Unfinished: Realisation in the Work of Paul Cézanne." In Cézanne: Finished, Unfinished. Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz, 2000. Exhibition catalogue, p. 57, fig. 24, as Pyramide de crânes.Athanassoglou-Kallmyer 2003
Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, Nina M. Cézanne and Provence: The Painter in His Culture. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 2003, p. 184, fig. 4.34, as Pyramide de crânes.Machotka 2008
Machotka, Pavel. Cézanne: The Eye and the Mind, 2 vols. Marseille: Editions Crès, 2008, vol. 1, fig. 393; vol. 2, p. 248, as Pyramide de crânes.Golding 2009
Golding, John. "Cézanne, Braque and Pictorial Space." In Cézanne and Beyond. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art; New Haven: In association with Yale University Press, 2009, p. 257, ill. p. 325, pl. 114, as Pyramid of Skulls, dated c. 1898.Kienle 2009
Kienle, Anabelle. "Cézanne and Beckmann: 'A Powerful New Pictorial Architecture.'" In Cézanne and Beyond. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art; New Haven: In association with Yale University Press, 2009, p. 325, pl. 114, as Pyramid of Skulls, dated c. 1898.Taylor 2009
Taylor, Michael R. "Learning from 'Papa Cézanne': Arshile Gorky and the (Self-) Invention of the Modern Artist." In Cézanne and Beyond. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Exhibition catalogue, p. 425, ill., p. 325, pl. 114, as Pyramid of Skulls, dated c. 1898.Sachs 2009b
Sachs, Katherine. "Cézanne and Marden: The Almost Perfect Painting." In Cézanne and Beyond. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art; New Haven: In association with Yale University Press, 2009. Exhibition catalogue, p. 491, ill., p. 325, pl. 114, as Pyramid of Skulls, dated c. 1898.Eiling 2017
Eiling, Alexander. "Cézanne's Metamorphoses." In Cézanne Metamorphoses. Munich and Karlsruhe: Prestel and Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, 2017. Exhibition catalogue, fig. 24.Stern and Kuspit 2017
Stern, Lynn, and Donald Kuspit. Skull. London: Thames & Hudson, 2017, p. 246, ill.Clark 2022
Clark, T.J. If These Apples Should Fall, Cézanne and the Present. London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 2022, pl. 55.
Photo Paul Smith, Courtesy Atelier Cezanne
Record last updated March 20, 2023. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Société Paul Cezanne. "Pyramide de crânes, 1898–1900 (FWN 874)." In The Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings of Paul Cezanne: An Online Catalogue Raisonné. www.cezannecatalogue.com/catalogue/entry.php?id=798 (accessed on April 20, 2024).
