Unit six

AT THE ART DEALER'S²

from "Lust for Life"^* by Irving Stone¹

The little bell on the front door jingled. A stranger walked in. "That picture you have in the window," he said. "That still life.³ Who is it by?"

"Paul Cezanne."⁴

"Cezanne? I have never heard of him. Is it for sale?"

"Ah, no, alas, it is already ..."

Madame⁵ Tanguy saw her chance. A wiry little woman with a hard, thin face and bitter eyes, she quickly rose from the chair, threw off her apron, pushed Pere Tanguy out of the way, and ran up to the man eagerly.

"But of course it is for sale. It is a beautiful still life, is it not, Monsieur?⁶ Have you ever seen such apples before? We will sell it to you cheap, if you admire it."

"How much?"

"How much, Tanguy?" asked Madame Tanguy raising her voice. Tanguy swallowed hard. "Three hundred..."

"Tanguy!"

"Two hundred..."

"TANGUY!"

"Well, one hundred francs!"

"A hundred francs? I wonder..." said the stranger. "For an unknown painter... I'm afraid that's too expensive. I don't think I can afford it. I was only prepared to spend about twenty-five."

The canvas was immediately taken out of the window and put before the customer.

"See, Monsieur, it is a big picture. There are four apples. Four apples are a hundred francs. You only want to spend twenty-five." Madame Tanguy broke off. Suddenly she suggested: "Then why not take one apple? The price is only twenty-five francs."

When the price was mentioned, the man began to study the canvas with new interest. "Yes, I could do that. It's a fair offer. Just cut this apple the full length of the canvas and I'll take it."

Madame hurried to her apartment and returned with a pair of scissors. The end apple was cut off, wrapped in a piece of paper and handed to the man. He paid the money and walked out with the canvas under his arm. The spoiled masterpiece lay on the counter.

"My favourite Cezanne," cried Tanguy unhappily. "I'll miss it so! I put it in the window. I wanted people to see it for a moment and go away happy."

Madame Tanguy interrupted him. "Next time someone wants a Cezanne and hasn't much money, sell him an apple. Take anything you can get for it. They are worthless anyway, he paints so many of them."

(Abridged)

NOTES

1. Irving Stone was born in 1903 in San Francisco. Among his more important books are "Lust for Life" (a biography of Vincent van Gogh, 1934); "Sailor on Horseback" (a biography of Jack London, 1938).

2. Art Dealer's: this is an example of the genitive absolute in which the governing noun is left out and which applies especially to residences and to places of business. Eg 1. She bought a loaf at the baker's. 2. He spent part of his holiday at his aunt's.

3. still life: pl still lifes

4. Paul Cezanne (1839-1906), a French painter of the postimpressionist school; famous for his still life paintings and landscapes

5. Madame: (Fr) a form of address to a French-speaking woman, corresponding to Mrs or madam

6. Monsieur: (Fr) a form of address to a French-speaking man, corresponding to Mr or sir