Here are some facts about Paul Cezanne, the famous French Post-Impressionist painter.
- Paul Cezanne was born on 19th January 1839 in Aix-en-Provence, France.
- He is often credited with forming the bridge between the dominant style of painting in that late 19th century (Impressionism) and the trend towards Cubism in the early 20th century.
- Cezanne was born into a wealthy family. His father was a founding member of a successful banking firm, and Paul Cezanne never had to worry about money.
- He moved to Paris in 1861.
- In Paris, Cezanne met Camille Pissarro (an Impressionist painter). They formed a strong friendship and worked together on some pieces of artwork.
- Cezanne wanted to represent real life in simple forms. He explored using ‘geometric simplification’ and his work inspired Picasso and Matisse. They referred to Cezanne as ‘the father of us all’.
- Paul Cezanne died of pneumonia on 22nd October 1906.
- An exhibition of his work in Paris in 1907, the year after Cezanne’s death, exposed a new generation of artists to his work and techniques.
- Cezanne was a Roman Catholic and religious images often appeared in his early work.
- Cezanne painted a range of different subjects during his career, including: landscapes, still life and portraits.
- Cezanne painted slowly believing that he needed to truly observe and understand his subject matter before he could capture the moment with a brushstroke. He portrait might take him over 100 working sessions to complete.
