Paul Cézanne

   

Paul Cézanne was a French painter, often called the father of modern art, who strove to develop an ideal synthesis of naturalistic representation, personal expression, and abstract pictorial order.

Cézanne's work has always demonstrated a mastery of design, colour, composition and draftsmanship.

Cézanne developed artistic interests at an early age, much to the dismay of his father.

Paul Cézanne completed nearly 200 still-life paintings in his lifetime.

Paul Cézanne was born in Aix-en-Provence, in 1839 to a successful retailer. Cézanne’s domineering father Louis-Auguste Cézanne, and his mother Anne-Elisabeth-Honorine Auburt, did not marry until 1844 when Paul was about five years old. Cézanne also had two younger sisters, Marie and Rose

Cézanne entered the Saint Joseph boarding school at the age of 10, where he studied drwaing under Joseph Gilbert, a Spanish monk, in Aix.

Cézanne entered the College Bourbon in 1852 where he became friends with Emile Zola and Baptisin Baille and the three of them came to be known as "les trois inseparables" (the three inseparables).

Cézanne attended law school at the University of Aix from 1859 to 1861 to comply with his fathers wishes. Finally in 1861 he left Aix for Paris to pursue his artistic development. His father eventually reconciled and supported his choice of career.

Cézanne met Camille Pissarro in the mid-1860’s in Paris and initially the relationship was that of master and mentoree. Over time it developed into a colaborative working relationship as among equals which led to their landscape painting excursions together in Louveciennes and Pontoise.

Cézanne's early work is often concerned with the figure in the landscape and comprises many paintings of groups of large, heavy figures in the landscape, imaginatively painted. Later in his career, he became more interested in working from direct observation and gradually developed a light, airy painting style that was to influence the Impressionists enormously.

Cézanne died of pneumonia and was buried at the old cemetery in his beloved hometown of Aix-en-Provence, on 22 October 1906.