PAUL CEZANNE

An artist against his father's will

Paul Cezanne was born on January 19, 1839, in Aix-en-Provence and is considered one of the most influential painters of the early modern period. Against his father's will, he decided early on to pursue a career as an artist. 

In 1862, Cezanne moved to Paris, where he was rejected by the École des Beaux-Arts and eventually attended the Académie Suisse. There he met Camille Pissarro, who became his most important teacher and artistic companion.

© Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel, Sammlung Beyeler, Foto: Robert Bayer

Paris, Impressionism, and the search for his own style

Cezanne studied and copied the works of the old masters in the Louvre. His early paintings are characterized by an impasto, sometimes rough painting style with bold application of color. Under the influence of Pissarro, he discovered Impressionism, participated in the group's exhibitions in 1874 and 1877, and experimented with light, color, and observation of nature.

Between 1873 and 1879, Cezanne lived in Auvers-sur-Oise, but then returned to Aix-en-Provence. There he worked in increasing seclusion and struggled for years to develop his own artistic expression.

Private Collection, ©  Nevill Keating Pictures Ltd

More than Impressionism: Cézanne's revolutionary visual language

Cezanne's painting marks a decisive step beyond Impressionism. Although he adopted its bright colors, brushstrokes, and outdoor painting, he was not interested in the fleeting nature of the moment. Instead, he strove for a stable, self-contained image as a counterpart to nature. Through color correspondences and a conscious modulation of colors, Cezanne attempted to capture nature in its inner order—an approach that fundamentally changed the understanding of form and space.

Motifs, recognition, and legacy of modernism

His extensive oeuvre includes landscapes, still lifes, portraits of friends, and depictions of people from his surroundings sitting quietly. Cezanne repeatedly returned to the motif of bathers in particular, varying it in numerous compositions.

Paul Cezanne, Pommes et oranges (Äpfel und Orangen), um 1899, © GrandPalaisRmn (musée d'Orsay) / Hervé Lewandowski

In 1895, art dealer Ambroise Vollard organized Cezanne's first solo exhibition in Paris. Recognition grew, initially mainly among artists such as Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and later Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.

In October 1906, Paul Cezanne died of pneumonia. He is still considered a key figure in modern art and a bridge builder between Impressionism and the avant-garde movements of the 20th century.

In 2026, the Fondation Beyeler will dedicate a comprehensive exhibition to the artist Paul Cézanne, impressively highlighting his central role as a pioneer of modern art.

Header:Drawing by Sarah Weishaupt, from the Catalog Cezanne

published on January 21, 2026, by Mathilde Busse