Out of vast majority of prominent and famous painters, Paul Cézanne takes a special place. No other painter has applied so many different painting techniques as Cézanne. He saw the light of day for the first time on January 19, 1839 in France, in a province called Aix-en-Provence. Cézanne was the only son of a wealthy banker. His father’s financial stability contributed to success of the artists in terms of providing all the necessities an aspiring artist may have needed. Unlike so many of his contemporaries, Cézanne could not be called a starving artist. After his father’s death, he received a considerable inheritance, giving him full freedom to devote himself fully to art, without thinking of mundane problems.
From the early age, Cézanne was drawn to art, although initially it did not seem like he possessed particular talent for it. However, his artistic education started in Collège Bourbon in which he enrolled in 1852, forming a long-lasting friendship with future eminent French writer Émile Zola. After he graduated from Collège, he went forward with his studies in École des Beaux-Arts, where he was admitted in 1856.
Unfortunately, his father did not support the artistic career of Cézanne, which is why he persuaded Cézanne to enroll in the University of Aix-en-Provence to study law. Nevertheless, Cézanne did not quit his studies at École des Beaux-Arts and continued studying in both universities, until graduation in 1861. After the graduation, he planned on going to Paris and enrolling in Académie des Beaux-Arts together with Zola. However, his application was rejected, so he chose to apply to Académie Suisse, where he was accepted. In this period, he found inspiration by attending Louvre, but after about half a year, he couldn’t cope with self-doubt, so he returned to Aix and started working in the banking house of his father.
The following years were marked by frequent trips to Paris and back to Aix, where he could work in isolation. Cézanne paintings, created during this time amaze with macabre subjects and powerful energy, concealing deep feelings. The main themes of his work during this time were dreams, peculiar fantasies, religious subject resented in the dark light. These paintings look like they’ve been painted either by crazy person or genius. Cézanne received positive reviews from Pissarro, however his works were criticized by Zola and even ridiculed by annual Salons.
In 1872 Cézanne left Aix in order to work closely with Pissarro in Paris, where he spent the next two years, changing the theme of his subjects to nature landscapes and making the palette he was working with much fresher and brighter. In 1874, he participated in a famous exhibition, organized by rejects of annual Salons. This event became a cornerstone of Impressionism movement. There have been held eight similar exhibitions between 1874 and 1886; however, Cézanne participated in just one more of them, the 3rd one, to which he submitted 16 works.
After the 3rdexhibition, which brought only negative reviews from the public, Cézanne retreated back to Aix. He stopped displaying his works for a period of around 20 years. He married his long-time girlfriend Hortense Fiquet in 1886, which was also the year when his father died. 1886 was also the year when Zola released his novel “L'Oeuvre” – a story of a failed artist, whose protagonist was thought to be based on Cézanne. The novel put an end to their friendship. The next decade was spent by Cézanne in isolation, until 1895, when he started sending out his paintings to exhibitions and getting admitted. In 1904, he was given a separate room in Salon d'Automne. Cézanne died on October 22nd, 1906 due to the cold he caught, while painting during the storm.