最近在一篇文章裡讀到「Picasso find, Cézanne seek」, 文章的主旨無關美術, 作者只是拿來做比喻因此沒有細說. 我從未聽過這句話, 上網查出確實有此一說, 源自兩位大畫家對自己繪畫風格的解說.

Paul Cézanne 說「I seek in painting」, Picasso 雖認為 Cézanne 對繪畫藝術影響至深, 像是「mother hovering over」卻說「I do not seek, I find」.

根據英語字典的定義:

find: discover or perceive by chance or unexpectedly

seek: attemp to find (something) or achieve (something)

由此可推理 Cézanne 創作時「刻意」尋求所畫題材可能有的隱喻, Picasso 則是無預定目標的尋寶, 假如真是這樣, Picasso 的創作不是已達無遠弗屆的境界了嗎? 難怪他自誇「It is a risk, a holy adventure. The uncertainty of such ventures can only be taken on by those, who feel safe in insecurity, who are lead in uncertainty, in guidelessness, who let themselves be drawn by the target and do not define the target themselves.」

下面兩幅兩位大師的畫, 不是他們的代表作, 也不是拿來解說 find 和 seek, 不過兩幅畫的主題類似構圖相近, 畫風大不相同, 我覺得有趣. 左圖是《Madame Cezanne in a Red Armchair》, 畫家的老婆, 右圖是《Le Rêve (The Dream)》, 畫家的情人.