Portrait of the Artist's Wife

This is one of Cézanne's many portraits of his wife Hortense Fiquet. They met in 1869, when she was working as a model. Their son was born in 1872, but they did not marry until 1886 – because Cézanne was afraid of how his father would react. Cézanne rarely dated his paintings, but the yellowish wallpaper in the background, with its characteristic blue pattern, makes it possible to date the portrait. This particular wallpaper indicates that the painting is from the Paris flat that the couple rented for a short period in 1877.
Denna målning är ett av de många porträtt Cézanne utförde av sin hustru Hortense Fiquet. De hade träffats 1869, när hon arbetade som modell. Deras son föddes 1872, men de gifte sig först 1886 – Cézanne oroade sig länge för sin fars reaktion. Cézanne daterade sällan sina målningar. Men bakgrundens gulaktiga tapet med sitt karaktäristiska blå mönster har i det här fallet gjort det möjligt att tidsbestämma porträttet. Just denna tapet fanns nämligen i den Parislägenhet som paret hyrde under en kort period 1877.