The New Cezanne: From Monet to Mondriaan

Artist: Paul Cezanne 
Author: Charles Beiderman 
Publisher: Red Wing 
Date: 1958 
Condition: The first edition hardback, with original unclipped yellow paper dust wrapper over green boards. The wrapper is intact, shows a little fading to the front and spine and some handling marks to the edge.
Internally this book is in excellent condition, clean and tidy throughout and illustrated with a large section of black and white comparative images. Bookseller's label for Tiranti, 72 Charlotte Street, London to inside front cover.

Biederman's book, originally written in 1956 to mark the half century since Cezanne's death but published in 1958, is quite a volume. From the off, we get a very strong sense that this is a polemic, designed to put right the interpretations of Cezanne which Biederman considers erroneous. 

Wide-ranging and written with obvious knowledge of Cezanne's work and writings, this is nevertheless a book that demonstrates Biederman's strong opinions. Born in Cleveland to Czech parents, he was seen in the 1930s and 1940s as a significant young abstract artist, but his apparently abrasive personality seems to have alienated much support. 

His theoretical re-interpretations of Cezanne's work make for interesting, if unconventional reading, and also include his application of these ideas to other painters, such as Mondrian, Rubens, Poussin and Veronese. Ambitious and entertaining, certainly!