View source for Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier

{{Short description|Painting by Paul Cézanne}}
{{Infobox artwork
| image_file         = Paul Cézanne 169.jpg
| image_upright      = 1
| title              = {{Lang|fr|Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier}}
| artist             = [[Paul Cézanne]]
| year               = 1893–1894
| medium             = Oil on canvas
| height_imperial    = 23.5
| width_imperial     = 28.75
| metric_unit        = cm
| imperial_unit      = in
}}
'''{{Lang|fr|Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier}}''' (English: '''''Curtain, Jug and Fruit Bowl''''') is an [[Oil painting|oil on canvas]] painting created {{Circa|1893}} to 1894 by French artist [[Paul Cézanne]]. It is a formal [[still life]] composition that displays Cézanne's exploration of form, balance and symmetry in objects. On 10 May 1999, the painting was sold at [[Sotheby's]] auction for $60.5 million, making it the [[List of most expensive paintings|most expensive still life painting]] ever sold at an auction.

== Background ==
Cézanne explored various genres throughout his artistic career, including landscapes and portraiture, but repeatedly returned to the subject of still life. It was a genre that historically had been disregarded in art as unimaginative, yet Cézanne challenged the establishment by focusing on everyday objects.<ref name=":1" /> He was particularly drawn to fruit, which he used to explore the correspondence between objects and the harmony and balance of composition. Although his objects appear to have been placed randomly, the images were carefully constructed to experiment with perspective.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cézanne's Still Lifes|url=https://www.nga.gov/education/teachers/lessons-activities/sense-of-place-france/cezanne.html|access-date=2021-02-19|website=www.nga.gov}}</ref>

Cézanne was fascinated by the exploration of optics in art. His still life paintings were a study in the geometric forms of objects and also in the shifting ways that our eyes view them. He attempted to depict objects from various perspectives to capture the complexity of the visual image. He wrote that, "Painting from nature is not copying the object, it is realising one's sensations".<ref>{{Cite web|title=MoMA {{!}} Paul Cézanne. Still Life with Apples. 1895–98|url=https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/paul-cezanne-still-life-with-apples-1895-98/|access-date=2021-02-19|website=www.moma.org}}</ref>

Cézanne's distinctive brushwork and distortion of the subject eventually influenced new art styles during the 20th century such as [[Cubism]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=For Paul Cezanne, An Apple A Day Kept Obscurity Away|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/07/10/330159592/for-paul-cezanne-an-apple-a-day-kept-obscurity-away|access-date=2021-02-18|website=NPR |language=en}}</ref>

== Description ==
This painting is a formal representation of its subject title, depicting a wooden table upon which are placed a large earthenware jug and a fruit bowl stacked with apples and oranges. To the left of the painting a curtain hangs in front of a patterned wall. A white cloth has been draped across the table with various fruits placed among its folds. The composition displays a study of outlines and a symmetry of objects. The earthenware jug has been depicted in a unique manner, in contradiction to ordinary perspective, and has been adapted to the shapes of the fruit and the other elements of the composition. The rich colours of the objects have been individually rendered with a full range of varying shades.<ref name=":0" />

==Provenance==
The painting was owned by [[Paul Gauguin]] and subsequently owned by [[Ambroise Vollard]], [[Cornelis Hoogendijk]], [[Paul Rosenberg (art dealer)|Paul Rosenberg]], [[Albert C. Barnes]], and the [[Carroll Carstairs]] Gallery.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Cezanne|first=Paul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTXcCgAAQBAJ&q=Curtain%2C+Jug+and+Fruit+Bowl+sothebys&pg=PT105|title=Delphi Complete Paintings of Paul Cézanne (Illustrated)|date=2015-11-03|publisher=Delphi Classics|language=en}}</ref> On 10 May 1999, the painting was sold at [[Sotheby's]], [[New York City]] for $60,502,500 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|60.5025|1999|r=1}} million in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation-fn|US-GDP}}), a record price, during the sale of the [[Whitney family]] collection.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1999-05-12|title=Paul Cezanne auction record|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/may/12/michaelellison|access-date=2021-02-18|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> Billionaire [[Kenneth C. Griffin|Ken Griffin]] purchased the painting to add to his private collection.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Huddleston|first=Tom Jr.|date=2020-03-07|title=This hedge fund billionaire owns the most expensive home ever sold in America — here's how he spends his fortune|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/06/photos-how-citadel-billionaire-ken-griffin-spends-his-fortune.html|access-date=2021-02-18|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref> The painting was later resold to [[Steve Wynn]] in August 1999 in a private sale for an undisclosed price.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1999-10-25|title=Paul Cézanne Painting Ends Up in Las Vegas After Sale Goes Sour|url=https://observer.com/1999/10/paul-czanne-painting-ends-up-in-las-vegas-after-sale-goes-sour/|access-date=2021-02-18|website=Observer|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Other version==
[[File:Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier, par Paul Cézanne.jpg|thumb|left|180px]]
A second version of the work, painted by Cézanne in the same year under the same title, is in a private collection.
{{clear}}

==See also==
*[[List of paintings by Paul Cézanne]]
*''[[The Basket of Apples]]''
*''[[Still Life with Teapot]]''
*[[List of most expensive paintings]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/news/waltzer/waltzer5-11-3.asp Artnet]

{{Paul Cézanne}}

[[Category:1894 paintings]]
[[Category:Paintings by Paul Cézanne]]
[[Category:Still life paintings]]