Top 8 Interesting Facts About Paul Cézanne

Who Is Paul Cézanne?

Paul Cézanne was an influential French Post-Impressionist painter. He was born on  January, 19 1839 in Aix-en-Provence, in the south of France. Paul Cézanne is best known for his astonishing landscape composition artworks, which have considerably influenced 20th-century art. 

Cézanne is universally recognized as the father of modern art and is honored as the forebear of Fauvism, Cubism, and being one of the greatest painters of all time.

Paul Cézanne Facts

Here is a list of Interesting facts about Paul Cézanne:

1. PAUL CEZANNE WAS WEALTHY, UNLIKE OTHER ARTISTS
2. EMILE ZOLA AND PAUL CEZANNE WHERE GREAT FRIENDS, ONCE.
3. PAUL CEZANNE WAS A DISCIPLE OF THE GREAT CAMILLE PISSARRO
4. PAUL CEZANNE STARTED MODERN EXPRESSIONISM
5. PAUL CEZANNE WAS A SLOW AND STEADY PAINTER
6. PAUL CEZANNE INSPIRED A NEW GENERATION OF ARTISTS
7. PAUL CEZANNE WORKED TO DEATH!
8. PAUL CEZANNE HAD ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS EVER SOLD

1. PAUL CEZANNE WAS WEALTHY, UNLIKE OTHER ARTISTS

Paul Cezanne’s father was a co-founder of a business firm, and when Cezanne grew up he obtained a substantial estate from his father. Which gave Cezanne financial security, something which most other artists didn't have during his time. 

Cezanne’s father aspired for his son to become a lawyer but that wasn't Cezanne's dream. Although, Cezanne did attend law school, at the University of Aix from 1858 to 1861. Throughout that time he was in school, he received drawing lessons which eventually lead Cezanne to proceed with his artistic career. 

He left Aix University for Paris in 1861 to follow his dreams and become a professional artist. 

Paul Cézanne Mont St Victoire

  

Learn more about Paul Cézanne Mont St Victoire

2. EMILE ZOLA AND PAUL CEZANNE WHERE GREAT FRIENDS, ONCE.

Who is Emile Zola?

Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola was a French novelist, playwright, journalist, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an essential contributor to the advancement of theater. 

Cezanne and Zola first met as students at the College Bourbon in 1852. For much of their careers, Zola would positively glorify Cezanne’s artwork, hence increasing Cezanne's notoriety. 

Cezanne’s friendship with Zola continued for several years, however in 1888, Zola used Cezanne as a character in his writing, creating a tragic fictitious artist named Claude Lantier, in his novel L’OEuvre. Cezanne thought this was a violation of their friendship, and their relationship was never the same after that. 

 

3. PAUL CEZANNE WAS A DISCIPLE OF THE GREAT CAMILLE PISSARRO

In Paris, Cezanne was a pupil of Camille Pissarro who was frequently alluded to as the "senior member of the Impressionist painters". Camille Pissarro was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas.

His greatness remains due to his massive contributions to both Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Pissarro studied from great artists, including Gustave Courbet and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. As indicated by Cezanne, "Pissarro was a father for me. A man to consult and a little like the good Lord." The connection between them was astonishingly great and their relationship grew positively over the years.

Who & What influenced Paul Cezanne's work?

Cézanne was influenced by Impressionism during the 1870s. Working close with Camille Pissarro and learning from Claude Monet, his color palette expanded and he started to work en Plein air. Monet was one of Paul Cézanne's greatest influences.  Cézanne began to work outside with a more extensive colors. He met van Gogh around this time and was likewise influenced by his style as well. Thus, Cezanne's brushstrokes turned out to be more liquid in style. 

4. PAUL CEZANNE STARTED MODERN EXPRESSIONISM

From 1861 to 1870, Cezanne's work is portrayed by dull hues and the overwhelming utilization of dark colors. During this time his work work alluded to as the "Dark Period." He painted a multitude of paintings with just a palette blade. The palette blade stage is considered by numerous art historians as the development of current modern expressionism.

Cezanne's subjects involved religious scenes, symbols, visions, and fantasies. He painted a few suggestive and vicious subjects in the Dark Period.

Dark Period Artworks

• Women Dressing by Paul Cezanne, 1867 
• The Abduction by Paul Cezanne, 1867
• The Murder by Paul Cezanne, 1867-1868 

5. PAUL CEZANNE WAS A SLOW AND STEADY PAINTER

From 1878 to 1890, Cezanne's artwork increased in popularity. This time period was known as his Mature Period. Cezanne painted a progression of artworks that included hills, mountains, and landscapes. During this period Cezanne got married to Hortense, and his dad passed away leaving him the estate.

Marie Hortense Fiquet Paul Cezanne's wife

Cezanne utilized short, incubated brushstrokes to help produce solidarity colors for his artwork. Cezanne had a unique artistic ability to demonstrate individual masses and spaces, as though they themselves were cut out of paint which he masterfully presents in the portrait of his wife.

His brushstrokes have been credited with utilizing the twentieth century Cubism's style. Cezanne was able to accomplish evenness and spatiality through his paintings using strong color shading techniques.

Cezanne painted gradually, accepting that he needed to really be aware of the object, and comprehend his subjects before he could catch the expression with a brushstroke.

His compositions took him more than 100 working sessions to finish. Cezanne painted a scope of various subjects during his profession, including natural still life and portraits. 

Mont Sainte-Victoire with Large Pine by Paul Cézanne

 

6. PAUL CEZANNE INSPIRED A NEW GENERATION OF ARTISTS

Cezanne wanted his art to speak to people and accurately display the simplest things in life. He performed 'geometric simplification' in his paintings and drawings.

Also, his longing to catch the reality of perception caused him to investigate the optical spectrum of colors to provide the watcher with an aesthetic encounter of the subject. Cezanne's investigation of geometric simplification inspired numerous painters of the Twentieth Century, to try different techniques.

Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse have said that Cezanne "is the father of us all." An exhibit of his work in Paris was displayed in 1907, the year after Cezanne’s death, inspiring a new generation of artists to test different art styles and techniques.

What did Paul Cézanne emphasize in his paintings?

In his works, Cézanne frequently dismissed realistic portrayals of space for increasingly inventive compositions. This is especially obvious in his still-life portrayals, which often highlight natural materials.

Cézanne played with the viewpoint of his paintings to show a similar course of action from various angles. He accomplished this by emphasizing every individual thing as opposed to the total scene, all in all, coming full circle with the observer.

7. PAUL CEZANNE WORKED TO DEATH!

Cezanne's devotion to his work cost him his life. One day Cezanne was caught in a storm while working in the field. He kept on laboring for two hours before choosing to return home.

On the way back to his house, he collapsed to the ground and was brought home by a passing driver. The following day he chose to keep working, however, had blacked out while he was painting a model. The model called for assistance. Shortly after, Cezanne was put to bed and told to rest. A couple of days later Cezanne died of pneumonia. Paul Cezanne died on October 22, 1906, and was buried at the old graveyard in his beloved home of Aix-en-Provence.

 

8. PAUL CEZANNE HAD ONE OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS EVER SOLD

The Card Players, a famous painting by Cezanne, is the second most costly masterpiece painting in the world, it held the record until 2015. It was sold for more than $250 million in 2011. The Card Players was painted during the 1890s, the work of art portrays Provencal laborers engaged in playing a game of cards, and smoking their pipes. 

The masterpiece is noted for its absence of dramatization, story, and a regular realistic portrayal of the characters. The models for the artwork were nearby laborers, some of whom worked for the Cezanne's family estate.

The Card Players by Paul Cezanne

 

Top 15 Most Famous Paintings by Paul Cézanne

Cezanne's compositions have contributed to new ideas about art. Positively influenced upcoming artists and lead to the advancement of modern art. Working gradually and quietly, the Cezanne has changed the meaning of art, into an organized pictorial language that proceeds to represent perspective in twentieth-century art and artists.

I hope you enjoyed learning about Paul Cezanne. leave a comment below let me know what you liked. 

Paul Cézanne Biography 

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