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Paul Cezanne
(1839-1906)
French painter Paul
Cezanne was born at Aix-en-Provence in the south of
France in January of 1839. As he grew older, he studied
law, but he had a passion for drawing and attended
drawing classes much to the opposition of his father.
After finally securing his reluctant father’s blessing
and financial backing, Cezanne relocated to Paris to
pursue his artistic endeavors.
Apples
The Mardi Gras
Cezanne exhibited very
little in his lifetime, living comfortably off his
father’s inheritance. He escaped into artistic isolation
when he was creating a new work. Today he is known as
one of the forerunners of modern painting. This can be
attributed to the fact that he was one of the first to
put down on canvas exactly what he saw in nature. He
also had a fresh view of space, mass, and color.
Although Cezanne was known as an impressionist, he
exhibited more control than the traditional
impressionist. Brushstrokes were tamed to create more
solid, concrete works that he likened to “art of the
museums”.
Cézanne’s works in 1865-70 have been categorized as his
“romantic” period. Each of these paintings was dramatic.
They dealt with subjects of violence and fantasy. The
paintwork was heavy with harsh colors.
Portrait of Louise-Auguste Cezanne,
the Artist's Father, 1866
In the early 1870s,
Cezanne strayed from his romantic approach. He began to
use the color and lighting of impressionism and he
stopped using such harsh strokes. His work took on a
softer shape.
In the late 1870s, Cezanne’s work evolved again- this
time into a “constructive” phase. He began grouping
brushrokes into patterns that formed mass on their own.
This continued on into the early 90s.
Madame Cezanne in a Red Armchair, 1877
Homme aux bras croises, 1877
Late in life, Cezanne
became even more reclusive. He began to focus more on
still lifes of objects surrounded by common things like
apples or tablecloths. He painted many views of
Mont-Sainte-Victoire, a nearby landmark that he could
view from his studio.
He also concentrated on landscapes. The landscapes of
his final years have a more unfinished, transparent
look.
By the time Cezanne died in 1906, his art had made its
way around Europe, building foundations for movements
like cubism. It influenced virtually all of the art of
the early 20th century.
