978-1-4222-3257-6

cézanne

from the south. When Chocquet died in 1899, many of his possessions were auctioned and art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel, acquired the paintings that he had bought from Cézanne. In 1900, Durand-Ruel sent 12 of Cézanne’s works to Berlin for an exhibition arranged by Paul Cassirer. It was the first exhibition on Cézanne held in Germany, although at that time there were no resulting sales. Cézanne found more acceptance in Belgium, while he stayed in Aix and concentrated on his main genres of still life, portraits, studies of bathers, and landscapes. Here, too, he struggled to become accepted by a public unaccustomed to “modern” art. In fact, despite the continued misunderstood nature of Cézanne’s works in certain quarters, he was beginning to gain favor in numerous corners of Europe. He made his only journey outside of France in 1890 when he visited Switzerland. Cézanne continued to paint from the family home, Jas de Bouffan, between 1895, when he moved there permanently, and 1897, when the death of his mother forced the sale of the estate so that the inheritance could be shared with his two younger sisters. He had ventured into the countryside in October 1906 and was working in a field when he was caught in a storm. He worked for another two hours before deciding to make his way home. He collapsed before he got there and was taken home by a passerby. He regained consciousness but had contracted pneumonia. Cézanne returned to work the following day but collapsed again and was returned to bed. This time he stayed there and died a few days later on October 23. He was buried just a short distance from where he was born. Cézanne received critical acclaim and his works began to flourish. A posthumous exhibition including 56 works was held in 1907 at the Salon d’Automne and proved extremely popular. Henry Moore was cited as saying that when he saw The Large Bathers in 1922, it was one of the most significant moments of his life. Cézanne is widely regarded as the precursor of modern painting and is seen to have had a great deal of influence in Cubism and the Fauvism movements and, today, his work can sell for millions of dollars.

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(Mary Evans/Epic/Tallandier)

 left:  Cézanne painting in Aix, 1906.