About Paul Cezanne - Famous French Painter

Katherine has researched and written about many British, European and Japanese Artists - both past and present

An Introduction to Paul Czanne (1839-1906)

Find out about the famous Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cezanne.

This overview of Cezanne's life and art provides a compendium of links to more information about:

• Cezanne's paintings, drawings and sketchbooks;
• museums and art galleries, exhibitions and websites where you can see his work;
• the places Cezanne painted in Provence
• books and articles about his artwork and his life and other resources for improving your knowledge of Cezanne, his unique approach to painting and his views on art (and society).

Why is Cezanne important?

CONSIDER HIS REPUTATION

• Paul Cezanne is considered by many to be the most influential painter of the late 19th century.
• He is often referred to as the "father of modern painting" (Henri Matisse once called Cezanne, "...the father of us all.")
• Cezanne is a prominent Post-Impressionist painter. He responded to the limitations of Impressionism and created a new artistic vocabulary which synthesized reality and abstraction. This in turn became a critical influence on early Modernism.
• Many curators consider him to be a very important influence. His work stands at the transition between art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Museums have made his work pivotal to the organisation of their collection of paintings
• Pablo Picasso readily admitted his great debt to the elder master.

WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT THE WAY CEZANNE PAINTED?

• Cezanne emphasised the process of painting and studied form and colour
• He identified form using those which he considered to be those most frequently found in nature - the 'cylinder, sphere and the cone'.
• He developed a way of seeing which emphasised planes - which was developed subsequently by Picasso and others as cubism
• His paintings record minute variations in tone and colour observed over long periods
• He left the paper blank - as a colour - when painting in watercolour

WHAT SUBJECTS DID HE PAINT?

• Cezanne almost single-handedly revived the still life as a legitimate subject for modern painting.
• Cezanne did not travel much and is very much associated with the landscapes of Provence.

Cezanne's Life

NEW! The Letters of Paul Cezanne Hardcover - by Alex Danchev (Editor, Translator)

Cezanne's letters provide an insight into his life and his thought processes with respect to art and painting.A new edition - in English - of Cezanne's letters - illustrated with his work which corrects mistakes made in a previous translation .Read this review in the Magazine of the Royal Aacdemy of Arts - Cezanne's thoughts writ large by Edmund Fawcett

Overview of the life and work of Paul Cezanne

Self Portrait by Paul Cezanne [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

These sites provide biographical overviews of Cezanne's life. Cezanne is pronounced 'Say-zahn'

• Paul Cezanne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Paul Cezanne on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• WebMuseum: Cezanne, Paul
  Cezanne, Paul(b. Jan. 19, 1839, Aix-en-Provence, Fr.--d. Oct. 22, 1906, Aix-en-Provence)French painter, one of the greatest of the Postimpressionists, whoseworks and ideas were influential in the aesthetic development of many20th-century artists and
• Paul Cezanne - Olga's Gallery
  Paul Cezanne was born into a family of Italian origin in Cesana Forinese. His father had established a felt hat business in Aix-en-Provence and later became a banker. In 1859 he bought a country house on the outskirts of Aix, the Jas de Bouffan, whic
• Paul Cezanne (18391906) | Thematic Essay | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  Paul Cezanne - timeline
• WebMuseum: Czanne, Paul: Czanne early worke
  Paul Cezanne (1839-1906)early work
• Paul Cezanne Biography - Biography.com
  Learn about the life of Paul Cezanne at Biography.com. Read Biographies, watch interviews and videos.
• Paul Cezanne, Post-Impressionist Artist, Still Life Genre Painter, Pioneer of Cubism, Biography, Pai
  Paul Cezanne, Post-Impressionist Genre Painter, Still Life Artist, Influenced Cubism, Biography, Paintings, Still Lifes

BOOK: Cezanne: A Life - by Alex Danchev

Rated 4.4 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews) | Like (20)A review of both his life and his lasting influence on art. This book has received some impressive reviews from the art press

A chronology of the life of Paul Cezanne - NGA - Cezanne in Provence: A Provenal Chronology of Czanne:

This chronology comes from the website of the 2006 Cezanne exhibition at the National Gallery of art in Washington

• 1839-1849
  Czanne in Provence
• 1850-1859
  Czanne in Provence
• 1860-1869
  Czanne in Provence
• 1870-1879
  Czanne in Provence
• 1880-1889
  Czanne in ProvenceMont Sainte-Victoire (1885-87) Paul Czanne [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
• 1890-1899
  Czanne in Provence
• 1900-1906
  Czanne in Provence

BOOKS: The Life of Cezanne - books on Amazon

Cezanne's Places and Landscapes

Maps of where Cezanne painted

Find out where exactly Cezanne painted when he was in ProvenceCzanne gained inspiration from the Aix-en-Provence. He said the area "conceals treasures which have not yet found the artist capable of expressing the riches to be discovered here".These are the places associated with CezanneJas de Bouffan - 17 Route de Galice Aix-en-ProvenceJas de Bouffan is the 17th-century country house his father, Louis-Auguste Cezanne, bought on 15 September 1859. They moved in around 1870. Between 1881 and 1885, the roof of the house had to be replaced and he made a little studio in the attic for his son Paul. After the death of his father in 1886, Czanne set up his studio in the large room on the ground floor. On 18 September 1899, two years after the death of Mrs Cezanne, Cezanne and his two sisters sold Jas de Bouffan.

"Jas de Bouffan. The Pond" (1876)

Cezanne's Studio

L'Atelier des Lauves. Cezanne's Studio - 9 avenue Paul Cezanne 13090 Aix-en-Provence

In November 1901, Cezanne bought a small country property on the Lauves hillside which was surrounded by agricultural land, olive and fig trees and bordered by the Verdon canal. The Atelier des Lauves, a two-story structure that still exists, gave Cezanne the privacy he craved while placing him closer to favorite motifs such as the Montagne Sainte-Victoire.

This was Cezanne's last studio.

I've visited the studio and it contains objects seen in his still life paintings done in later life. But for the dust, you'd be persuaded that he's just stepped out to paint plein air!

"Mont Sainte-Victoire" (1887)

"Mont Sainte-Victoire" (1887) by Paul Czanne [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsThe Sainte-Victoire mountainThis provided a constant source of fascination to the artist. He painted the 1,000 metre mountain for the first time in 1870, and then again in 1885-86.

In the park of Chateau Noir

Bibemus Quarry

• NGA - Czanne in Provence: Map: Aix-en-Provence
  Czanne in Provence: a map of where Cezanne painted around Aix-en-Provence
• Jas de Bouffan - Czanne en Provence
  Jas de Bouffan - For the banker's son, the country house bought by his father in 1859 was not only a home, an anchor, and a studio whose walls received his first works, but also a source of permanent inspiration until 1899.
• NGA - Czanne in Provence: Map: Jas de Bouffan
  Czanne in Provence: Map of where Cezanne painted at Jas de Bouffan
• Sainte-Victoire - Czanne en Provence
  "For a long time I was not able, I did not know how to paint Sainte-Victoire, because I imagined the shadow as concave, like the others who do not really look at it, yet all the while, look at it, it is convex, it runs out from its center. Instead of
• NGA - Czanne in Provence: Maps: Chteau Noir
  Czanne in Provence: Map of where Cezanne painted - Chateau Noir
• The Path to Bibemus - Czanne en Provence
  When Czanne first set up his easel in the middle of the quarries, they had not been used in several decades. Their exploitation began during the Roman period at the end of the 18th century. The calcareous molasse walls still bore slanted grooves from
• Cezanne - Aix en Provence - Paul Cezanne studio
  Paul Cezanne studio - Flash animation - Visits - Discovery - Saint-Victoire Mount - News - In the footsteps of Cezanne- Pictural Way - Shopping- Informations - Map of Aix en Provence - Main places in Aix - Studio's history - Life and work of the mast
• Cézanne's Studio at Les Lauves
  A guide to Cézanne's Studio at Les Lauves
• Louvre - a photograph of Cezanne with plein air kit on back
  A rather famous photograph of Cezanne

"Chateau Noir" (1900-1904)

Chateau Noir

19 oil paintings and 20 watercolours

"Chteau Noir" (1900-1904) by Paul Czanne [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

From 1887 onwards, Cezanne rented a small room in the pistachio tree courtyard.He invited me for an outing to Chateau Noir... One sunny afternoon, he came to pick us up in a car that he rented by the year so that, if he was tired, he could get to his subject or to his studio outside the town. We all left in high spirits, and followed a road which became more and morelovely. Atlastwesawsomepinewoods,andhemademegetout to have a better look at the place, which we explored together. Despite his age, he was extremely agile and was able to clamber across the rocks"(Emile Bernard).

Mont Sainte-Victoire seen from Les Lauves - 44 oil paintings and 43 watercolours

Cezanne chose the highest viewpoint of the mountain when he set his easel near Chemin de Marguerite. Between 1902 and 1906, he often returned to complete 11 oils on canvas and 17 watercolours which today residen in the great museums of the world or prestigious private collectionsThe city of Aix-en-Provence has created the painters' ground (terrain des peintres) within the Marguerite Estate. Opposite the mountain which, from this angle, becomes a figurehead, ten panels depict the main views of Mont Sainte-Victoire as painted by Cezanne from Chemin de la Marguerite.Features of the Provencal landscape which are evident in the paintings - and can still be seen to day - include wheat fields, road to the Alps, red roofs of houses and the power plant.In February 1904, Emile Bernard accompanied Cezanne to paint his famous motif"It was two kilometres from the studio, facing a valley, at the foot of Sainte-Victoire, that bold mountain that he never stopped painting in watercolour and oil, and which filled him with admiration.

Cezanne in Provence

BOOKS: Cezanne in Provence - books on Amazon

Provence was a very important place to Cezanne. It was his home, where he lived for nearly the last 20 years of his life, and where he painted some of his most famous landscapes

Cezanne and friends

• NGA - Czanne in Provence: Glossary
  Czanne in Provence - glossary of people in Cezanne's life

Information about Aix en Provence and Cezanne

Tourist Office
Les Allées Provençales
300 avenue Giuseppe Verdi – BP 160
13 605 Aix en Provence cedex 1

GPS : Latitude 43.526200 – Longitude 05.444703

Bus stop: www.lepilote.com

Parking: Rotonde Car Park

The city of Aix-en- Provence and Aix Regional Community organized a series of highlights in 2006 - on the occasion of the centenary of the death of Paul Czanne (1839 - 1906).

• Aix en Provence - Tourist Office - Guided Tours to The Czanne sites
  Information about The Cezanne sites * The studio at Les Lauves * The Bibmus Quarries * The Manor of Jas de Bouffan
• Aix en Provence - Tourist Office - Provence - France
  Informations for your next stay in Aix en Provence : tourism, city map, gastronomy and shopping, provence, hotel, culture and history, city tours, excursions.
• Cezanne - Aix en Provence - Paul Cezanne studio
  Atelier Cezanne � Aix en Provence. Tous les admirateurs de Paul Cezanne le savent bien, c'est ici que l'on ressent avec le plus d'intensite la presence du peintre. Cezanne a realise la son abri, lieu de recueillement et de travail, d'ou par beau temp

Articles about Cezanne

• The Observer, Sunday 12 April 2009 - Rail threat to Czanne's landscape
  The vines and olive trees of Mont Sainte-Victoire made famous by the artist could be grubbed up to make way for a new TGV line

Cezanne and Still Life

BOOK: Czanne in the Studio: Still Life in Watercolors - by Carol Armstrong. Professor of Art and Archaeology at Princeton University

Published re. exhibition at the Getty Museum from October 12, 2004 to January 2, 2005

Cezanne and Still Life

"Still Life with apple and biscuits" by Paul Czanne [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

"Czanne was preoccupied with still life, and painted the same objects over and over again. His concentrated study of familiar items enabled him to develop a new way of capturing his visual sensations. He believed that conventional perspective, which uses a single viewpoint, did not accurately reflect the way that we perceive the world."Tate Museum - Cezanne

• smARThistory Blog Archive Cezanne, Still Life with Apples, 1895-98 (MoMA) — an enhanced podcast
  Cezanne, Still Life with Apples, 1895-98 (MoMA) — an enhanced podcast
• Smarthistory, a multimedia web-book about art: discussing The Basket of Apples
  Focuses on Paul Czanne, The Basket of Apples, oil on canvas, 1893 (Art Institute of Chicago)
• WebMuseum: Cezanne, Paul: Still Life galleria
  Cezanne, Paul: Still Life galleriaPaul Czanne, one of the creators of modern art, was called the ``solidifier of Impressionism''. And indeed he does not draw his picture before painting it: instead, he creates space and depth of perspective by means

Cezanne's Watercolour Paintings

Reviews of Cezanne's watercolours

The Bridge of Trois-sautets (le Pont Des Trois-sautets), (c. 1906) watercolor and pencil by Paul Czanne, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Czanne painted watercolor still lifes throughout his career.At the end of his career, between 1902 and 1906, he made his largest, most complicated watercolor still lifes in his final studio at Les Lauves, near his native Aix-en-Provence. Today the studio is open as a museum and preserves a number of the objects that he painted in his still lifes.

• Cézanne in the Studio (Getty Exhibitions)
  This Getty exhibition highlights the intersection between the genre of still life and the medium of watercolor in the oeuvre of Paul Cézanne.
• Czanne's Watercolors
  Czanne's WatercolorsThe Path to Cubism:Czanne's Geometricization in His Forest WatercolorsNorris Novak, Princeton Class of 2008He started with the graphite pencil, etching the image and the textures.

BOOK: Cezanne's Watercolors: Between Drawing and Painting - by Matthew Simms, Associate Professor of Art History, California State University, Long Beach

CEZANNE IN GALLERIES & EXHIBITIONS

Cezanne's art in online galleries

These online sites provide an accessible overview of Cezanne's paintings for those who want to learn more about his art.I very much recommend The Athenaeum as a resource for learning.

• The Athenaeum - Displaying artworks for Paul Cezanne HIGHLY RECOMMMENDED
  The Athenaeum - Displaying 498 artworks for Paul Cezanne
• Paul Cezanne - WikiPaintings.org RECOMMMENDED
  Paintings by Paul Cezanne
• Paul Czanne - Wikimedia Commons RECOMMMENDED
  Paul Czanne - From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
• WebMuseum: Cezanne, Paul: Landscapes RECOMMENDED
  Cezanne, Paul: LandscapesCzanne immortalized the Provenal countryside with his broad, panoramic views. Often these are framed in branches, sometimes with architectural elements, but seldom with human activity. These too are still lifes. Czanne's land
• Allpaintings - Paul Cezanne
  Images by Paul Czanne
• WebMuseum: Cezanne, Paul: Portraits
  Cezanne, Paul: PortraitsEven Czanne's pictures of people can be regarded as still lifes, because he demanded that his models sit absolutely still. Sitting for him was something of a nightmare. Not only was he foul-tempered, he was an extremely slow p
• WebMuseum: Cezanne, Paul: Self-Portrait with Palette
  Cezanne, PaulSelf-Portrait with Palette1885-87 (110 Kb); Oil on canvas, 36 1/4 x 28 3/4 in;Collection the Artist's Family, ParisIt is one of the most impersonal self-portraits we know--and not simply because the face and especially the eyes are unfin
• WebMuseum: Cezanne, Paul: Self-Portraits
  Cezanne, Paul: Various Self-Portraits
• WebMuseum: Cezanne, Paul: Self-Portrait
  Cezanne, PaulSelf-Portrait1879-82 (140 Kb); Oil on canvas, 25 5/8 x 20 5/8"; Tate Gallery, LondonWe have from Czanne's hand over thirty self-portraits. They are not only documents of his appearance over the four decades of his career as a painter; th
• WebMuseum: Cezanne, Paul: Bathers
  Cezanne, Paul: BathersBathers were another of Czanne's themes. Women bathers are usually presented in large pyramidal groups, overlapping, mostly with their backs to the viewer. His men generally face forward, almost in a frieze. They are individuals
• Artilim - Paul Czanne Paintings
  List of paintings by Paul Czanne

Museums and Art Galleries - Paintings by Paul Cezanne

These sites provide links to the collections of Cezanne paintings and major exhibitions Cezanne's artwork in various museums around the world

• ARTCYCLOPEDIA: Paul Cezanne Online
  Paul Cezanne [French Post-Impressionist Painter, 1839-1906] Guide to pictures of works by Paul Cezanne in art museum sites and image archives worldwide.
• Art Institute of Chicago : Search Results for Paul Czanne
  9 artworks, 22 resources
• Muse d'Orsay: Collections catalogue - Paul Cezanne search results
  paintings by Paul Cezanne
• Paul Czanne: Bathers | Work of Art | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  The Bathers
• Paul Czanne: Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses | Work of Art | Timeline of Art History |
  Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses
• Paul Czanne: Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley | Work of Art | Timeline o
  Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley
• MFA Boston: Collections Search Results - Paul Cezanne
  Paintings by Paul Cezanne
• MoMA.org | The Collection | Paul Czanne. (French, 1839-1906)
  Paul Czanne. (French, 1839-1906)
• Paul Czanne: The Card Players | Work of Art | Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of A
  The Card Players
• National Gallery of Art, Washington - works by Paul Czanne
  Artist Paul CzanneFrench, 1839 - 1906
• Neue Pinakothek [Sammlung - Kunstler]
  The Neue Pinakothek offers an overview of European art from classicism to art nouveau. Its founder was King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who opened the museum in 1853 and had it built to house his privately financed collection of works by contemporary artist
• Paul Czanne | artist | 1839 - 1906 | The National Gallery, London
  Explore information about the artist: Paul Czanne. See list of paintings at the National Gallery, London.
• Tate Britain - Cezanne Paintings
  Paintings by Czanne29 September - 27 October 1954
• Tate Britain - Paul Czanne 1839-1906
  paintings by Paul Cezanne

Exhibitions of Paul Czanne's artwork

This is a record of major exhibitions of Cezanne's paintings

• Czanne et autres peintres - Le Ferrage des centaures
  Paul Czanne, l'cole spciale de dessin d'Aix-en-Provence au temps de Czanne
• NG London/Past Exhibitions: Czanne in Britain
  The National Gallery marks the centenary of Cezanne's death with 'Cezanne in Britain', a retrospective focusing entirely on his works held in British collections.
• Tate - Paul Cezanne Exhibition of Watercolours 1946
  Paul Czanne: an Exhibition of Watercolours11 April - 12 May 1946
• Czanne in Florence : Art exhibition in Tuscany
  Czanne in Florence: art exhibition in Tuscany - list of the works
• The State Hermitage Museum: Exhibitions
  Exhibitions Archive: Paul Cezanne and the Russian Avant-Garde8 August - 24 September 1998The dialogue between the works of French painter Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) and those of Russian avant-garde artists between 1907 and 1930 is the subject of this e
• MoMA.org | Exhibitions | 2005 | Pioneering Modern Painting: Czanne and Pissarro 1865–1885
  Pioneering Modern Painting: Czanne and PissarroVisit the online exhibition
• Cezanne in the Studio (Getty Exhibitions) 2005
  This Getty exhibition highlights the intersection between the genre of still life and the medium of watercolor in the oeuvre of Paul Cezanne.
• NGA - Cezanne in Provence: Introduction
  Cezanne in Provence
• NGA - Czanne in Provence: Image List
  Czanne in Provence
• National Gallery of Art - Czanne in Provence (2006)
  National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Czanne in Provence
• National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Czanne in Provence
  Czanne in Provence is the principal international exhibition marking 2006 as the centenary of the death of Paul Czanne (1839-1906). A key figure in the impressionist and post impressionist movements, he is often seen as the father of modern art. This
• National Gallery - Cezanne in Provence - Exhibition Brochure (pdf file)
  exhibition brochure
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Special Exhibitions: Czanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of
  Czanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde
• Czanne in Florence : Art exhibition in Tuscany 2007
  Czanne in Florence: art exhibition in Tuscany
• Czanne Collection at the Courtauld Institute of Art's 75th Anniversary | Art Knowledge News
  Courtauld Gallery holds the finest group of works by Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) in Britain.  As the culmination of The Courtauld Institute of Art’s 75th anniversary, the Gallery is showing the entire collection together for the first time.
• Courtauld Gallery Exhibitions : The Courtauld Cezannes
  The Courtauld Czannes 26 June - 5 October 2008.. a condensed miracle of masterpieces ... (Financial Times, 28/29 June 2008)... a landmark in the study of this great artist's work ... (The Daily Telegraph, 1 July 2008)A feast. (The Daily Mail, 4 July
• Telegraph | Picture Gallery | THE COURTAULD CZANNES
  To mark the Courtauld Gallery's 75th anniversary their entire collection of Czannes - the largest in the UK - is to go on display.
• Tate Britain - Paul Czanne: an Exhibition of Watercolours 11 April - 12 May 1946
  Paul Czanne: an Exhibition of Watercolours11 April - 12 May 1946Czanne's watercolours are studies preparatory to painting in oil, notes of strong sensations before nature afterwards to be rendered in the more permanent and solid seeming medium. They
• Tate Britain - Paintings by Czanne 29 September - 27 October 1954
  Paintings by Czanne 29 September - 27 October 1954Stability is the essence of Czanne's conception of the picture. The idea of pictorial unity implicit in Impressionism provided him with a starting point from which he proceeded to meditations on the s

BOOKS: Cezanne's Art - books on Amazon

BOOKS: Cezanne's Sketchbooks

VIDEOS: Cezanne on You Tube

BOOK: Letters on Czanne - by Rainer Maria Rilke

© 2008 Katherine Tyrrell

Comments and Suggestions - Let me know what you think - but please do not spam!

Deadicated LM on July 29, 2012:

Paul Cezaane is one of my favorites, good Lens and information; thanks for sharing.

Millionairemomma on May 21, 2012:

I've seen his work in museums which are spectacular. Wonderful lens. I will now go and check out your blog!

gypsyman27 lm on January 19, 2011:

You have done a wonderful job with this lens concerning Cezanne's life and works. See you around the galaxy...

WindyWintersHubs from Vancouver Island, BC on January 19, 2011:

Remarkable Lens!! I know the name Cezanne but little about his art and life's work. I will favor and return to learn more about this interesting artist. Thanks for sharing!

poutine on January 19, 2011:

What a superbly done lens!I enjoyed reading more about Cezanne in a easy style.

ChrisDay LM on January 19, 2011:

Lensroilled to my 'Inspiration for Artists' lens

ChrisDay LM on January 12, 2011:

A really valuable resource. Thanks

Katherine Tyrrell (author) from London on July 13, 2010:

To the person who asked me to add a link into an art website. I only add links to sites which have identifiable owners. This one did not.

anonymous on March 01, 2010:

Several years ago I bought a CD-ROM from Corbis entitled, PAUL CEZANNE: Portrait of my world. Unfortunately, I checked the Corbis website and didn't see this particular CD listed. (However, there are other fine art listings but I don't know if they are available in CD form either.)The CD-ROM is well worth the effort to locate a copy...many, many paintings, bio, etc.

Katherine Tyrrell (author) from London on November 02, 2009:

Thanks Aimee - you may well find videos by me of Cezanne's work when you come back!I start these lenses to learn about an artist - so they tend to start impersonal and become more personal as I get to know the artist better and find out more about them. One of the things that i do like about Cezanne is the way he 'hatched' with a brush - I hatch all the times with my pencil and I keep looking out for people who also work with a brush in the same way.

anonymous on November 02, 2009:

Hi!I saw Cezanne's paintings at the MoMa a week ago. Very beautiful - they were actually a high-light of the visit to NYC for me. Something about his rhytm or pulse (always awkward to find the right words for such an impression) in the paintings that went straight to my heart.There is too much here for one time - thank you for collecting these links. I'll be back :)One little suggestion/question: I would really be curious to read why you are drawn to Cezanne? What made you put all the work in to create this lens? It is in itself a pretty 'impersonal' lens, but the dedication it shows suggests something more personal..?Aimee