He did exhibit in the first (1874) and third (1877) Impressionist exhibitions, but it was not until 1895 when the dealer Ambroise Vollard ‘discovered’ him and gave him his first solo exhibition.Ĭézanne continued to paint largely in complete isolation, although some artists visited him on the strength of his growing reputation. He submitted regularly to the Salon, his paintings being included in the Salon des Refusés in 1863, and rejected each year until 1882, when one of his paintings was finally accepted. There his principal subjects were his Bathers series, landscapes, particularly around the Bibemus quarry and views of Mont Sainte-Victoire, and still lifes. He was diagnosed a diabetic in 1890, and Hortense and his son largely lived in Paris, leaving Cézanne to paint obsessively back in Provence. His style moved on from Impressionism, and in 1886 he married Hortense, his father died leaving him a wealthy man, and his friendship with Zola ended abruptly.

As a result Cézanne painted many landscapes in Impressionist style.įrom 1878 he returned more often to Aix, which was his base from the early 1880s until his death. When they returned to Paris the following year, he befriended Pissarro, who acted as his mentor, painting in company plein air in villages along the River Seine not far from Paris, particularly in and around Pontoise. On the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870, the couple fled to l’Estaque, close to both Marseille and Aix, where his paintings continued to become more light. He painted at the Académie Suisse, and met Hortense Fiquet, a part-time model, who became his partner. Subjects were also dark, and sometimes violent. During the 1860s his paintings were generally very dark, and he experimented with painting using a palette knife. In Paris he started to paint, including copying at the Louvre, as was normal at that time. However he was determined to be a painter, and left University prematurely, travelling to Paris in 1861. In preparation for an intended career in the family bank, he studied law at the University of Aix. He was a close schoolfriend of Émile Zola, who went on to be a leading novellist, journalist, and writer. Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) was born and brought up in a prosperous banking family in Aix-en-Provence. It is therefore worth the effort of appreciating them better, even if you may never come to effuse or enthuse over them in the way that you might over van Gogh’s cypresses. However Cézanne’s work, including his depiction of trees, is the greatest single influence of nineteenth century painting over modernism and art in the twentieth century.

They lack the sophisticated technique of Pissarro, and for many have less aesthetic appeal. In contrast to van Gogh’s obvious visual appeal and huge popularity today, Cézanne’s paintings are more difficult.

The other major Post-Impressionist (with Vincent van Gogh) who painted many landscapes with trees was Paul Cézanne.

Cezanne landscape paintings