The Card Players, after Cezanne (Series from Pictures of Magazines 2)
Year: 2012
Medium: digital C-print
Dimensions: 180.3 x 225.4 cm (80 x 88 3/4 in.)
Acquired from nca | nichido contemporary art, 2022
This is one of Muniz’s representative series, which reproduces famous paintings using magazine clippings. The subject of this work is Cézanne’s “The Card Players (Les Joueurs de Cartes).” There are several masterpieces and variations of this famous painting by Cézanne. Muniz’s reproduction in this work is said to have been created between 1894 and 1895 and is in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay. In the painting, two men who appear to be farmers face each other across a table. The straight light that shines on a bottle of wine placed in the center of the table bisects the canvas straight down the middle as if to predict the outcome that will eventually be reached. In this work, Muniz has masterfully created color tones and shades using a variety of printed materials, even replicating Cézanne’s brushstrokes to the best of his ability. From afar, one can see the work is faithful to the original painting down to the smallest details. However, upon closer look, the fire lit in the pipe and the curve of the hat brim are the unexpected images. A bright red sports car is hidden in what appears to be a brown table. One wonders how many magazines were opened to find each appropriate image, a feat made possible by Muniz’s extraordinary observational skill, allowing him to resolve every detail of the original work. Moreover, only people with a high level of color composition ability could have done it.
