Paul Cézanne's portraits of his wife Hortense Fique rank among the most powerful of their kind in French modernism, yet posterity has not been kind to Madame Cézanne, who was called a distraction, blamed for her husband's "lackluster" landscapes, and disdained for her impenetrable expression in the paintings. The reality is more complex, this in-depth survey suggests, for while their marriage was not an altogether happy one, she was his primary model, mother of his son, and unwavering partner against all odds. With an essay by Hortense's great-grandson, Philippe Cézanne, this book features 24 of Cézanne's oil portraits of his wife and most of the known drawings, providing a better understanding of the painter's life and ever-evolving technique.