Paul Cezanne: A-Z

Portrait of an Artist in the Early Days of Modernism

The incomparable play of light and color in Paul Cezanne’s work was the foundation of his reputation as a forerunner of modernism. From the start he went his own way, and his paintings initially evoked a lack of understanding in art critics of the time, as well as ridicule. Despite his Romantic, Baroque, Impressionist, and finally Classical influences, it is still difficult to ascribe Cezanne to any particular art movement. Still, which specific places left lasting impressions on the scion of a provincial banker’s family? What and who were major influences supporting and advancing his innovative oeuvre? James H. Rubin traces Cezanne’s life and work from A to Z in this brief volume, creating an image of a painter who wanted to transform painting itself. The author—and established connoisseur — succeeds in closely approaching the artist while at the same time maintaining the necessary distance to his inimitable paintings.

Paul Cezanne (1839–1906) was one of the most influential painters in the early days of modernism and has often been described as a pioneer of Neues Sehen, or New Vision. His work still exercises undiminished influence to this day.
James H. Rubin (*1944) is an art historian and professor at the State University of New York in Stony Brook. His research focuses on nineteenth-century European art, especially the history, theory, and critique of French Modernism.