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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.
left:
Cézanne painting in Aix, 1906.
(Mary Evans/Epic/Tallandier)
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cézanne