Paul Cézanne revolutionized painting in the late 19th century. He broke from academic traditions, experimenting with color and form to create a unique style that bridged Impressionism and Cubism. His work emphasized structure and geometry, using bold colors and visible brushstrokes.

Cézanne's innovative techniques, like constructive brushstrokes and multiple viewpoints, influenced generations of artists. His still lifes, landscapes, and figure studies pushed the boundaries of representation, paving the way for modern art movements. Cézanne's legacy continues to shape our understanding of painting and artistic expression.

Life and early career

Childhood in Aix-en-Provence

• Born on January 19, 1839, in Aix-en-Provence, a small town in southern France
• Grew up in a wealthy bourgeois family, his father was a successful banker
• Spent much of his childhood exploring the local countryside, which would later inspire his landscapes
• Showed an early interest in drawing and painting, often sketching the people and places around him

Education and artistic influences

• Attended the local drawing school in Aix-en-Provence, where he received a traditional art education
• Studied under Joseph Gibert, a Spanish monk who taught him the basics of drawing and composition
• Influenced by the works of Old Masters such as Titian, Rubens, and Rembrandt, which he copied at the Louvre during visits to Paris
• Admired the paintings of Eugène Delacroix and Gustave Courbet, who challenged academic conventions

Friendship with Émile Zola

• Met Émile Zola, a future novelist, at school in Aix-en-Provence when they were both teenagers
• Developed a close friendship based on their shared interests in art, literature, and politics
• Zola became an early champion of Cézanne's work, writing articles praising his innovative style
• Their friendship lasted for many years, despite periods of estrangement due to Cézanne's difficult personality

Development of unique style

Rejection of academic conventions

• Broke away from the traditional techniques and subject matter taught in art academies
• Rejected the smooth, polished finish and idealized beauty favored by academic painters
• Embraced a more expressive, personal approach to painting, emphasizing the artist's subjective vision

Experiments with color and form

• Explored the use of bold, non-naturalistic colors to convey emotion and create a sense of depth
• Simplified forms into geometric shapes, reducing objects to their essential structures
• Used thick, visible brushstrokes to emphasize the materiality of the paint and the process of creation
• Developed a distinctive style characterized by flattened planes, shifting perspectives, and a sense of solidity

Influence of Impressionism

• Participated in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, alongside artists such as Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro
• Shared the Impressionists' interest in capturing the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere
• Differed from the Impressionists in his emphasis on structure, volume, and the underlying geometry of forms
• Incorporated Impressionist techniques such as broken brushwork and pure, unmixed colors into his own unique style

Mature period and major works

Still life paintings

• Created numerous still life paintings throughout his career, depicting everyday objects such as fruit, flowers, and kitchen utensils
• Used still life as a means of exploring the relationships between color, form, and space
• Notable examples include "Still Life with Apples" (1893-1894) and "The Basket of Apples" (1895)

Landscapes of Provence

• Painted many landscapes of his native Provence, capturing the region's distinctive light, colors, and topography
• Focused on the Mont Sainte-Victoire, a mountain near Aix-en-Provence, which he depicted in over 60 paintings
• Developed a highly personal, almost abstract style in his late landscapes, such as "Mont Sainte-Victoire" (1904-1906)

Portraits and figure studies

• Painted portraits of family members, friends, and local people throughout his career
• Emphasized the psychological presence and inner life of his subjects, often depicting them in introspective or melancholic poses
• Notable examples include "The Artist's Father" (1866), "Madame Cézanne in a Red Armchair" (1877), and "Boy in a Red Vest" (1888-1890)

The Card Players series

• Created a series of paintings depicting peasants playing cards, which he worked on from 1890 to 1895
• Simplified the figures into basic geometric shapes, creating a sense of monumental stillness and timelessness
• The series is considered one of Cézanne's most important achievements, with versions now held in major museums around the world

The Bathers series

• Painted a series of large-scale compositions depicting nude figures in outdoor settings, which he worked on from the 1870s until his death
• Used the theme of bathers to explore complex spatial relationships and the integration of figures into the landscape
• The series represents a synthesis of Cézanne's lifelong interests in classical art, modern painting, and the natural world
• Notable examples include "The Large Bathers" (1898-1905) and "The Bathers" (1898-1905)

Artistic techniques and innovations

Constructive brushstrokes

• Developed a distinctive brushwork technique, using short, parallel strokes to build up forms and create a sense of structure
• Applied paint in small, regular touches, often leaving areas of canvas visible between the strokes
• Created a patchwork effect that emphasized the two-dimensional surface of the painting while also suggesting depth and volume

Geometric simplification of forms

• Reduced objects and figures to their basic geometric shapes, such as spheres, cylinders, and cones
• Emphasized the underlying structure and solidity of forms, rather than their surface appearance
• Created a sense of stability and permanence in his compositions, even when depicting transient subjects like landscapes or still lifes

Multiple viewpoints vs linear perspective

• Challenged the traditional rules of linear perspective, which used a single vanishing point to create the illusion of depth
• Incorporated multiple viewpoints into a single composition, showing objects from different angles simultaneously
• Created a sense of spatial ambiguity and tension, inviting the viewer to actively engage with the painting

Modulation of color

• Used gradations of color to create a sense of depth and volume, rather than relying on traditional shading techniques
• Juxtaposed warm and cool colors to suggest the play of light across surfaces and to create a sense of harmony and balance
• Developed a subtle, nuanced approach to color that influenced later artists such as Matisse and the Fauves

Legacy and influence

Bridge between Impressionism and Cubism

• Cézanne's work represents a crucial link between the Impressionist focus on light and color and the Cubist exploration of form and space
• His emphasis on the underlying structure of objects and his use of multiple viewpoints paved the way for the radical innovations of Picasso and Braque
• Cézanne's influence can be seen in the work of many 20th-century artists, from the Fauves and Expressionists to the Abstract Expressionists

Impact on Picasso, Braque, and Matisse

• Picasso and Braque both acknowledged Cézanne as a major influence on the development of Cubism
• They admired his geometric simplification of forms and his use of multiple perspectives, which they pushed to new levels of abstraction
• Matisse was inspired by Cézanne's use of color and his emphasis on the expressive potential of paint, which he incorporated into his own Fauvist style

Posthumous recognition and exhibitions

• Cézanne's work was not widely appreciated during his lifetime, but his reputation grew steadily after his death in 1906
• A major retrospective of his work was held at the Salon d'Automne in Paris in 1907, which had a profound impact on the younger generation of artists
• Cézanne's paintings are now held in major museums around the world, including the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the National Gallery in London

Lasting contributions to modern art

• Cézanne is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
• His innovative approach to color, form, and perspective laid the foundations for the development of modern art
• His emphasis on the artist's subjective vision and the expressive potential of paint continues to inspire artists today
• Cézanne's legacy is a testament to his unwavering commitment to his artistic vision and his tireless pursuit of a new language of painting