Aul Cezanne 597

Paul Cézanne was born as the son of a wealthy banker in a southern French town called Aix-en-Provence on January 19, 1839. His closest boyhood friend was Emile Zola, who later gained fame for his novels and letters. Both boys developed artistic interest early in their lives. This idea greatly dismayed Cézanne's father. No one could have guessed it then, but Cézanne would be become a famous French painter who would come to be called the father of modern art. After a variety of heated family disputes, Cézanne was finally given a small allowance and sent to study art in Paris in 1862. Zola had already gone there, and was still studying there. Paul was most intrigued by the more radical elements of the art world. He admired the romantic painter Eugene Delacroix, and some younger artists including Gustave Courbet and ‹douard Manet. These painters exhibited realistic paintings that were unexpected and shocking in both style and subject compared to other contemporary artists. Cézanne adopted similar styles at first. Cézanne's early works were usually painted with dark tones and heavy, fluid pigments, which reflected the moody and romantic expressionism of earlier generations. He gradually developed a method of the representation of contemporary life. He painted the world as he saw without concern for idealistic themes or stylish affectation. The most significant influence on Cézanne at this time was Camille Pissaro who not only provided Cézanne with the moral encouragement that he needed, but he introduced Cézanne to a new impressionistic technique for rendering outdoor light. Because of Pissaro's influence, Cézanne shifted from dark tones to bright hues concentrating greatly on scenes of farmland and rural villages. Cézanne seemed to be less technically accomplished than other impressionists at that time, and received some of the harshest critical commentary. He drifted away from many of his Parisian contacts, and spent much of his time in Aix-en-Provence during the late 1870s and 80s. He became withdrawn, embitter, and paranoid over criticism because of what he took to be references to his own failures in one of Zola's novels. He broke off from Zola and Pissaro, and soon inherited his father's wealth, which made him still more socially isolated. This isolation seemed to greatly increase his development, and he designed his own techniques for painting outdoor light. He himself spoke of "modulating" with color rather than "modeling" with dark and light. He sometimes thought of himself as a failure. He left most of his works unfinished or destroyed them. He complained of his inability of rendering the human figure. This was displayed especially in the Large Bathers. No matter how dissatisfied he may have been with himself, there was no lack of support from the next generation of painters. During the majority of his life, he was mostly unknown. This ended when in 1904 he was featured in a major exhibition, and by the time of his death in Aix-en-Provence on October 22, 1906, he had gained the status of a legendary figure. Many aspiring artists traveled to Cézanne's home to observe him at work and to receive and advice he may have had to offer. Both his style and theory remained mysterious and cryptic. To some he seemed naïve and primitive, but to others her was a sophisticated master of impressionism. Among the artists of his time, Cézanne had perhaps the most profound effect on the art of the 20th century. He was the greatest single influence on Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. He was particularly well known for his use of color and his structure in the cubist style.