Similar Subtleties

Cezanne

Apples

1877-1878

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Exerpt from The Sun Also Rises:

"While I had him on, several trout had jumped at the falls. As soon as I baited up and dropped in again I hooked another and brought him in the same way. In a little while I had six. They were all about the same size. I laid them out, side by side, all their heads pointing the same way, and looked at them. They were beautifully colored and firm and hard from the cold water."

Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. New York: Scribner, 1926.

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When compared, Cezanne's painting and Hemingway's prose have striking similarities. It is almost obvious that Hemingway had Cezanne (or at least his technique) in mind while he was writing this description of the trout. Both artists have taken one object and placed them in some sort of pattern. Very simple, in both cases. Then the emphasis is placed on color, but very subtely. Hemingway simply says that the fish were "beautiful colored." Cezanne uses the minimal amount of red, yellow, and green to create a beautiful still life. When I look at Hemingway's prose in comparison to this painting, it helps me understand how a visual artist and a writer can share the same technique and, ultimately, the same vision.