This is Cezanne

Paul Cézanne challenged convention, and proposed new possibilities for modern art. He was remarkable for his ability to perceive and paint everyday places, people and things in ways that revealed the multiplicity and beauty of vision, while also unveiling the deep, cohesive structures of the visible world. But the intellectual and emotional difficulties of his achievements were considerable.

Mainly self-taught, most of his career was plagued by rejection. The critics, and the public, disliked his paintings and, in 1884, Cézanne declared that Paris, the centre of the nineteenth-century art world, had defeated him. Repeatedly, he retreated into self-doubt and bad temper. This book follows Cézanne on his extraordinary artistic journey, focusing on his formative discoveries, made not in the flashy, fashionable metropolis but in provincial and rural France and often in isolation.

About the Author

Jorella Andrews is head of the Visual Cultures department at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is the author of Showing Off: A Philosophy of Image. She is also the series editor for “Visual Culture As” (Spring 2013). Patrick Vale is an internationally recognised illustrator best known for his work based on cities and architecture. Among his recent projects has been his time-lapsed film, ‘Empire State of Pen’. He lives and works in London.