Online Encyclopedia
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne (January 19, 1839 - October 22, 1906), the painter of and from Aix-en-Provence, was the bridge from Impressionism to Cubism. In paintings such as the 1885 Mont Sainte-Victoire and 1887 Madame Cézanne we can see the inspiration for the Cubists and even the Fauvists.
Cézanne began with the light, airy painting of the Impressionists and gradually solidified it and made it more architectural. His painting began to concentrate on solid forms and on the modelling of these forms in colors.
To early 20th Century Modernists, Cézanne was the founder of modern painting. Henri Matisse called him "the father of us all".
Cézanne and the important novelist Émile Zola were friends from childhood and youth, but broke in later life over Zola's fictionalized depiction of Cézanne in the novel L'Oeuvre (The Masterpiece, 1886).
On May 10, 1999, Cézanne's painting Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier sold for US$ 60.5 million, the fourth highest price paid for a painting up to that time. (See also the List of most expensive paintings.)