[ Aix], 23 of December 1904 r.
Dear Bernard,
I have received your kind letter sent from Naples. We will not go into aesthetic considerations. So, I applaud your admiration for the bravest Venetian. Czcimy Tintoretta. Your need to find a moral and intellectual foothold in your works, which will certainly not be surpassed, he forces the Lord to be constantly on guard, to constantly seek the means of expression, which will surely lead the Lord to find his own means of expression in the face of nature. Let the Lord be sure, that on, in which the Lord will grasp them, You will find without difficulty and against nature the means used by the four or five great Venetians.
It is indisputable, I say firmly: an optical impression arises in our organ of sight, which makes, that we define as light, semitone and quarter-tone plans represented by color sensations. (So there is no light for a painter). How long do we necessarily go from black to white, for so long - because the first of these abstractions is, as it were, a point of support for the eye, as for the brain - we go, we cannot achieve the championship, control oneself. Then it (I am repeating myself a little out of necessity) we turn to the admirable works handed down to us over the centuries and find refreshment in them, just like a board, it supports the bather. […]
[ Aix, 1905], Friday
Dear Bernard,
I reply briefly to some of the points in your last letter. Substantially, as you write, I guess, that in recent studies, which the Lord saw with me, I have made some slow progress. That's sick, but I must say, that from the point of view of the image and the development of the means of expression, a better understanding of nature comes with old age and the weakening of the body.
That is why official salons have such a low level, that they take into account methods which are more or less widespread. It would be better to bring in more personal emotion, observation and character.
The Louvre is a book, from which we learn to read. However, we should not stop at imitating the beautiful formulas of our famous predecessors. Let's go beyond them, to study the beauty of nature, let us try to free our mind from them, let us try to express ourselves according to our personal temperament. Time and reflection slowly change our vision and finally comes understanding.
During the current rains, it is impossible to apply these rules of law outdoors. But persistence leads us to understand so much the interior, like everything else. Only old habits inhibit our intelligence, which requires whip undercutting. […]
Compliments to Mrs. Bernard, greetings for children, cordially devoted to the Lord
P.Cezanne
You will understand me better, when we see each other; studying changes our vision to such an extent, that the modest and enormous Pissarro is justified in his anarchist theories.
Let the Lord draw; but reflex is it, what surrounds - and light creates the environment by means of a general reflex.
Cordially devoted P. C.
Aix, 23 October 1905 r.
Dear Bernard,
Your letters are dear to me for two reasons; the first is purely selfish: they bring me out of monotony, brought about by the constant pursuit of one single goal, causing a kind of mental exhaustion in moments of physical fatigue; the second reason is this, that they allow me to communicate to the Lord, perhaps too often, stubbornness, with which I am trying to recreate this part of nature, which we see and which gives us an image. Well, the thesis, which should be developed, it proclaims: whatever our temperament or might be in the face of nature, you need to give a picture of it, what we see, forgetting everything, what appeared before us. I guess, that this should allow the artist to express his entire personality, big or small.
Well for me, almost seventy years old man, color sensations, creating light, they cause this elusiveness, which does not allow me to cover the canvas or follow the delimitation of objects then, when the contact points are thin and delicate; as a result my picture is incomplete. On the other hand, plans hit one another, where does neo-impressionism come from, which surrounds the contours with a black line; it's a mistake, which must be fought with all our might. If we consult nature, will give us the means to achieve this goal.
I remember your stay in Tonerre, but because I had a hard time settling in at home, I was completely at the mercy of my family, who cares about your comfort, forgetting me a bit. This is life; at my age I should have had more experience and be using it for the common good. I owe you the truth about painting and I will tell it to you. […]
Your man
Paul Cezanne
I shake my hand warmly and - take courage.
Optical vision, developing in us thanks to studies, teaches us to look.
Aix, 21 September 1906 r.
Dear Bernard,
I suffer from severe brain disorders, I am so deeply upset, that at one point I was afraid, that my poor mind cannot stand it. After the terrible heat, we have experienced recently, a slightly milder temperature brought us back a bit of peace, and it was time for that. Now it seems to me, that I feel better and see my field of study more clearly. Will I achieve such a much sought after goal?, which I have been striving for so long? I want it, but until I achieved it, a state of undefined anxiety persists, which will not disappear sooner, until I reach the port, that is, I will realize something better than before and thanks to this I will confirm my theories, which are always easier to create; the only serious difficulty is proving it, what you think. So I am continuing my studies.
I have just read your letter again and I can see it, that I always answer the wrong question, what you need. Lord forgive me, it is the constant striving to achieve the goal set out to do so.
I study constantly by nature and it seems to me, I'm slowly making progress. I'd like, that the Lord be with me, for loneliness is always a little pregnant. I am old, sick and I swore to myself, that rather uI'm painting, than I descend into degrading childishness, threatening the elderly, who let themselves be controlled by the passions that dull their minds.
If I have the pleasure to meet with the Lord one day, we will be able to communicate better in the conversation. Lord forgive me, that I keep coming back to the same thing - I believe in the logical development of this, what we see and feel through studying nature; I have time to deal with later; the ways are mere means for us, permitting, for the audience to feel it, what we ourselves feel, and that it recognize us. Great, whom we admire, I don't think they were doing anything else.
Greetings from the stubborn old man, who shakes the Lord's hand warmly
Paul Cézanne