''L'Après-midi à Naples'' (Afternoon in Naples) is an oil-on-canvas painting executed c. 1875 by the French artist

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

. The work is in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Australia in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

. The art dealer

Ambroise Vollard Ambroise Vollard (3 July 1866 – 21 July 1939) was a French art dealer who is regarded as one of the most important dealers in French contemporary art at the beginning of the twentieth century. He is credited with providing exposure and emotio ...

related that the title for the painting "L'Apres Midi à Naples" was proposed to Cézanne by his friend the landscape painter

Antoine Guillemet Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Guillemet (June 30, 1843 in Chantilly (Oise) – May 19, 1918 in Mareuil-sur-Belle (Dordogne)) was a French renowned landscape painter and longtime Jury member of the Salon des Artistes Francais. He was one of the fi ...

. There are two known preliminary sketches for the painting. The work depicts a naked male-female couple in bed while a servant is seen arriving with a teapot. The painting's dramatis personae and arrangement of figures is said to have been influenced by the work of

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

. The fact that the afternoon is given over to carnality is said to signify that Italy was seen as a place of taking pleasure and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

was most prominent on that map of indulgence. The National Gallery of Australia also owns Lucian Freud's ''

After Cézanne ''After Cezanne'' is a large irregular shaped obtuse painting begun in 1999 and completed in 2000 by the British artist Lucian Freud. The top left section of this painting has been 'grafted' on to the main section below, and closer inspection re ...

'' (2000) created by the later painter in response to this work.

References

1875 paintings Nude art Paintings by Paul Cézanne Food and drink paintings Collections of the National Gallery of Australia {{19C-painting-stub

See also

References