The figure of Geffroy forms a strong triangle in the centre of the painting. The setting – books, inkwell, rose, Rodin statuette – identifies the activities and tastes of the subject, without any feeling of complicity.
Moreover, Cézanne's gratitude gradually gave way to irritation with his subject whom he found too eclectic in his artistic tastes and too disrespectful of religion.
Cézanne delayed painting the face and hands
to the last moment, and finished by leaving them incomplete. The result is an image of an opaque, mysterious, even threatening character. The fact that it is not finished makes the image unusually striking.
The
painting fascinated the future cubists, Braque and Picasso above all, for the structure of the bookcase, geometric and yet with unusual perspectives, and for the bold use of space on the table surface. This work was
also one of the most admired paintings at the Retrospective Exhibition of the works of Cézanne at the 1907 Autumn Salon.
百度翻译：http://fanyi.baidu.com
