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Achille Empéraire (1829-1898) was Cézanne's fellow-student at the Atelier Suisse, whom he greatly respected. Empéraire lived in extreme poverty; a hunch-backed dwarf, he never achieved recognition during his lifetime. Cézanne's portrait pays homage to his friend, showing him in a combination of dignified melancholy and pride.
The portraits of Cézanne's father and Empéraire, each sitting in the same chair, were painted only a few years apart. A comparison shows how much Cézanne's style had changed during this short period: the flowery seat cover in the portrait of his father is painted in an Impressionist manner, but the decoration on Empéraire's chair is shown very precisely, almost schematically.
This painting was submitted to the 1870 Salon. It was rejected.
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