Impressionism: Art and Modernity | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
In 1874, a group of artists called the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc. organized an exhibition in Paris that launched the ...
Paul Cézanne
The independent collective had a fluid membership over the course of the eight exhibitions it organized between 1874 and 1886, with the number of participating artists ranging from nine to thirty. Pissarro, the eldest, was the only artist who exhibited in all eight shows, while Morisot participated in seven. Ideas for an independent exhibition had been discussed as early as 1867, but the Franco-Prussian War intervened. The painter Frédéric Bazille, who had been leading the efforts, was killed in the war. Subsequent exhibitions were headed by different artists. Philosophical and political differences among the artists led to heated disputes and fractures, causing fluctuations in the contributors. The exhibitions even included the works of more conservative artists who simply refused to submit their work to the Salon jury. Also participating in the independent exhibitions were <anchor>Paul Cézanne</anchor> and Paul Gauguin, whose later styles grew out of their early work with the Impressionists.
Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) \| Essay \| The Metropolitan Museum of Art \| Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

[Homepage](/ "Homepage")

Jump to content [tickets](https://engage.metmuseum.org/admission/?promocode=55916) [Member](https://engage.metmuseum.org/members/membership/?promocode=56373) \| [Make a donation](https://engage.metmuseum.org/donate?promocode=56351)

Search

- Visit



- [Plan Your Visit](https://www.metmuseum.org/plan-your-visit)
- [Buy Tickets](https://engage.metmuseum.org/admission)
- [Become a Member](https://engage.metmuseum.org/members/membership/?promocode=56373)
- [Free Tours](https://www.metmuseum.org/tours)
- [Museum Map](https://maps.metmuseum.org/)
- [Food and Drink](https://www.metmuseum.org/plan-your-visit/dining)
- [Accessibility](/learn/accessibility)
- [Group Visits](https://www.metmuseum.org/plan-your-visit/group-visits)

- Exhibitions and Events



- [Exhibitions](/exhibitions)
- [Events](https://www.metmuseum.org/events)
- [Free Tours](https://www.metmuseum.org/tours)
- [Performances](https://www.metmuseum.org/events?type=performances%2CperformanceArt%2Cmusic%2Cdance)

- Art



- [The Met Collection](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection)
- [Curatorial Areas](/about-the-met/collection-areas)
- [Conservation and Scientific Research](/about-the-met/conservation-and-scientific-research)

- Learn with Us



- [Learning Resources](/learn/learning-resources)
- [Publications](https://www.metmuseum.org/met-publications)
- [Timeline of Art History](https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/)
- [Workshops and Activities](/learn/workshops-and-activities)
- [Articles, videos, and podcasts](/perspectives)

- Research



- [Libraries and Research Centers](/art/libraries-and-research-centers)

- [Shop](/shop)
- Search
- Go


#### [Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History](/toah) [Essays](/toah/essays)

# Paul Cézanne (1839–1906)

[![Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435870/795986/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435870)

#### [Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle](/art/collection/search/435870)

Paul Cézanne


[![Still Life with Jar, Cup, and Apples](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435884/799924/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435884)

#### [Still Life with Jar, Cup, and Apples](/art/collection/search/435884)

Paul Cézanne


[![Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle, as a Monk](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435869/796210/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435869)

#### [Antoine Dominique Sauveur Aubert (born 1817), the Artist's Uncle, as a Monk](/art/collection/search/435869)

Paul Cézanne


[![Bathers](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435867/2267333/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435867)

#### [Bathers](/art/collection/search/435867)

Paul Cézanne


[![The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene)](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/438136/796292/main-image)](/art/collection/search/438136)

#### [The Fishermen (Fantastic Scene)](/art/collection/search/438136)

Paul Cézanne


[![Dish of Apples](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/437989/796172/main-image)](/art/collection/search/437989)

#### [Dish of Apples](/art/collection/search/437989)

Paul Cézanne


[![Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435877/2006313/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435877)

#### [Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley](/art/collection/search/435877)

Paul Cézanne


[![The Gulf of Marseilles Seen from L'Estaque](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435872/795929/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435872)

#### [The Gulf of Marseilles Seen from L'Estaque](/art/collection/search/435872)

Paul Cézanne


[![Gardanne](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435871/1913957/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435871)

#### [Gardanne](/art/collection/search/435871)

Paul Cézanne


[![Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435882/796423/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435882)

#### [Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses](/art/collection/search/435882)

Paul Cézanne


[![The Card Players](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435868/800382/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435868)

#### [The Card Players](/art/collection/search/435868)

Paul Cézanne


[![Seated Peasant](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/437990/796177/main-image)](/art/collection/search/437990)

#### [Seated Peasant](/art/collection/search/437990)

Paul Cézanne


[![Still Life with a Ginger Jar and Eggplants](https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/435881/2007193/main-image)](/art/collection/search/435881)

#### [Still Life with a Ginger Jar and Eggplants](/art/collection/search/435881)

Paul Cézanne


**James Voorhies**

Department of European Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

October 2004

One of the most influential artists in the history of modern painting, Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) has inspired generations of artists. Generally categorized as a [Post-Impressionist](/toah/hd/poim/hd_poim.htm), his unique method of building form with color and his analytical approach to nature influenced the art of [Cubists](/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm), [Fauves](/toah/hd/fauv/hd_fauv.htm), and successive generations of avant-garde artists. Beginning to paint in 1860 in his birthplace of Aix-en-Provence and subsequently studying in Paris, Cézanne’s early pictures of [romantic](/toah/hd/roma/hd_roma.htm) and [classical](/toah/hd/neoc_1/hd_neoc_1.htm) themes are imbued with dark colors and executed with an expressive brushwork in the tradition of Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863). Dramatic tonal contrasts and thick layers of pigment (often applied with a palette knife) exemplify the vigor with which Cézanne painted during the 1860s, especially apparent in the portrait series of his uncle Dominique Aubert, variously costumed as a lawyer, an artist, and a monk ( [53.140.1](/toah/works-of-art/53.140.1); [1993.400.1](/toah/works-of-art/1993.400.1)). This kind of costume piece is reminiscent of [Édouard Manet’s](/toah/hd/mane/hd_mane.htm) Spanish paintings of the 1860s.

While the three works that Cézanne exhibited in 1874 at the first Impressionist exhibition were not fully in line with the [Impressionist](/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm) technique of quickly placing appliqués of pigment on the canvas, he did eventually abandon his relatively dark palette in exchange for brilliant tones and began painting out of doors, encouraged by the Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro (1830–1903). His _Bathers_ ( [1976.201.12](/toah/works-of-art/1976.201.12)) of 1874–75 demonstrates a developed style and tonal scale in one of his first paintings of this theme, which recurs in his oeuvre. The landscape of _Bathers_ has the brilliance of plein-air painting, while the figures, drawn from the artist’s imagination (Cézanne rarely painted nudes from life), reconcile themselves within this setting. The complex process of drawing inspiration from these two sources, nature and memory, would occupy Cézanne in his later work. _The Fisherman (Fantastic Scene)_ ( [2001.473](/toah/works-of-art/2001.473)), of about 1875, shares the same bright tones as _Bathers_, while its subject recalls the themes of fantasy familiar from the 1860s; it too could be the product of two polar sources.

In his still-life paintings from the mid-1870s, Cézanne abandoned his thickly encrusted surfaces and began to address technical problems of form and color by experimenting with subtly gradated tonal variations, or “constructive brushstrokes,” to create dimension in his objects. _Still Life with Jar, Cup, and Apples_ of about 1877 ( [29.100.66](/toah/works-of-art/29.100.66)) shows Cézanne’s rejection of the intense contrasts of light and shadow of his earlier years in exchange for a refined system of color scales placed next to one another. The light of Impressionism resonates in this work, but signs of a revised palette are especially apparent in his muted tones. _Still Life with Apples and a Pot of Primroses_ ( [51.112.1](/toah/works-of-art/51.112.1)), a mature work from about 1890, reveals Cézanne’s artistic evolution and mastery of this style of building forms completely from color and creating scenes with distorted perspectival space. The objects in this painting, such as the fruit and tablecloth, are rendered without use of light or shadow, but through extremely subtle gradations of color. In such still lifes as _Dish of Apples_ ( [1997.60.1](/toah/works-of-art/1997.60.1)) of about 1876–77, as in his landscapes, Cézanne ignores the laws of classical perspective, allowing each object to be independent within the space of a picture while the relationship of one object to another takes precedence over traditional single-point perspective.

From 1882, Cézanne executed a substantial number of [landscape pictures](/toah/hd/lafr/hd_lafr.htm) of his native Aix and of L’Estaque, a small fishing village near Marseille, in which he continues to concentrate on pictorial problems of creating depth. Here Cézanne used an organized system of layers to construct a series of horizontal planes, which build dimension and draw the viewer into the landscape. This technique is apparent in _Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley_ ( [29.100.64](/toah/works-of-art/29.100.64)) and _The Gulf of Marseille Seen from L’Estaque_ ( [29.100.67](/toah/works-of-art/29.100.67)). In _Gardanne_ ( [57.181](/toah/works-of-art/57.181)), he painted the landscape with intense volumetric patterns of geometric rhythms most pronounced in the houses. This picture anticipates the Cubism of Georges Braque (1882–1963) and [Pablo Picasso](/toah/hd/pica/hd_pica.htm) (1881–1973), especially Braque’s impressions of L’Estaque of about 1908.

In 1890, Cézanne began a series of five pictures of Provençal peasants playing cards. Widely celebrated as among the finest figure compositions completed by the artist, _The Card Players_ ( [61.101.1](/toah/works-of-art/61.101.1)) demonstrates his system of color gradations to build form and create a three-dimensional quality in the figures. Continuing on this theme of the rural laborer, _Seated Peasant_ ( [1997.60.2](/toah/works-of-art/1997.60.2)) celebrates the dignity of working-class citizens of Third Republic France (1870–1940).

In 1895, the dealer Ambroise Vollard (1867–1939) held Cézanne’s first one-man exhibition at his gallery in Paris. Although the exhibition met with some skepticism, Cézanne’s reputation as a great artist grew quickly, and he was discussed and promoted by a small circle of enthusiasts, including the art historian and critic Bernard Berenson (1865–1959), American painter [Mary Cassatt](/toah/hd/cast/hd_cast.htm) (1844–1926), and collectors Henry Osborne Havemeyer (1847–1907) and his wife Louisine Havemeyer (1855–1929). Posthumous exhibitions at Galerie Bernheim-Jeune and the Salon d’Automne in 1907 in Paris established Cézanne’s artistic legacy.

* * *

#### Citation

Voorhies, James. “Paul Cézanne (1839–1906).” In _Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History_. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pcez/hd\_pcez.htm (October 2004)

#### Further Reading

Rewald, John. _Cézanne: A Biography_. New York: Abrams, 1986.

Rewald, John. _Cézanne and America: Dealers, Collectors, Artists, and Critics, 1891–1921_. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.

#### Additional Essays by James Voorhies

- Voorhies, James. “ [Europe and the Age of Exploration](/toah/hd/expl/hd_expl.htm).” (October 2002)

- Voorhies, James. “ [Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)](/toah/hd/pica/hd_pica.htm).” (October 2004)

- Voorhies, James. “ [Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) and the Spanish Enlightenment](/toah/hd/goya/hd_goya.htm).” (October 2003)

- Voorhies, James. “ [School of Paris](/toah/hd/scpa/hd_scpa.htm).” (October 2004)

- Voorhies, James. “ [Art of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries in Naples](/toah/hd/npls/hd_npls.htm).” (October 2003)

- Voorhies, James. “ [Elizabethan England](/toah/hd/liza/hd_liza.htm).” (October 2002)

- Voorhies, James. “ [Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946) and His Circle](/toah/hd/stgl/hd_stgl.htm).” (October 2004)

- Voorhies, James. “ [Fontainebleau](/toah/hd/font/hd_font.htm).” (October 2002)

- Voorhies, James. “ [Post-Impressionism](/toah/hd/poim/hd_poim.htm).” (October 2004)

- Voorhies, James. “ [Domestic Art in Renaissance Italy](/toah/hd/dome/hd_dome.htm).” (October 2002)

- Voorhies, James. “ [Surrealism](/toah/hd/surr/hd_surr.htm).” (October 2004)


### Related Essays

- [Édouard Manet (1832–1883)](/toah/hd/mane/hd_mane.htm)
- [Impressionism: Art and Modernity](/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm)
- [Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)](/toah/hd/gaug/hd_gaug.htm)
- [Post-Impressionism](/toah/hd/poim/hd_poim.htm)
- [The Transformation of Landscape Painting in France](/toah/hd/lafr/hd_lafr.htm)
- [African Influences in Modern Art](/toah/hd/aima/hd_aima.htm)
- [Alfred Stieglitz (1864–1946) and His Circle](/toah/hd/stgl/hd_stgl.htm)
- [Auguste Rodin (1840–1917)](/toah/hd/rodn/hd_rodn.htm)
- [Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907)](/toah/hd/astg/hd_astg.htm)
- [Claude Monet (1840–1926)](/toah/hd/cmon/hd_cmon.htm)
- [Cubism](/toah/hd/cube/hd_cube.htm)
- [Early Documentary Photography](/toah/hd/edph/hd_edph.htm)
- [Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) and Art](/toah/hd/hemw/hd_hemw.htm)
- [Fauvism](/toah/hd/fauv/hd_fauv.htm)
- [Georges Seurat (1859–1891) and Neo-Impressionism](/toah/hd/seni/hd_seni.htm)
- [Henri Matisse (1869–1954)](/toah/hd/mati/hd_mati.htm)
- [Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844–1926)](/toah/hd/cast/hd_cast.htm)
- [Modern Art in West and East Pakistan](/toah/hd/wepk/hd_wepk.htm)
- [Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665)](/toah/hd/pous/hd_pous.htm)
- [Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)](/toah/hd/pica/hd_pica.htm)
- [Paul Strand (1890–1976)](/toah/hd/pstd/hd_pstd.htm)
- [School of Paris](/toah/hd/scpa/hd_scpa.htm)
- [Still-Life Painting in Northern Europe, 1600–1800](/toah/hd/nstl/hd_nstl.htm)
- [Thomas Eakins (1844–1916): Painting](/toah/hd/eapa/hd_eapa.htm)
- [Umberto Boccioni (1882–1916)](/toah/hd/umbo/hd_umbo.htm)
- [Unfinished Works in European Art, ca. 1500–1900](/toah/hd/unfi/hd_unfi.htm)
- [Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)](/toah/hd/gogh/hd_gogh.htm)

### Chronology

- [France, 1800–1900 A.D.](/toah/ht/10/euwf.html)
- [France, 1900 A.D.–present](/toah/ht/11/euwf.html)

### Keywords

- [19th Century A.D.](/toah/keywords/19th-century-a-d)
- [20th Century A.D.](/toah/keywords/20th-century-a-d)
- [Aix-en-Provence](/toah/keywords/aix-en-provence)
- [Cubism](/toah/keywords/cubism)
- [Daily Life](/toah/keywords/daily-life)
- [Europe](/toah/keywords/europe)
- [Fauvism](/toah/keywords/fauvism)
- [Floral Motif](/toah/keywords/floral-motif)
- [Food](/toah/keywords/food)
- [France](/toah/keywords/france)
- [Games](/toah/keywords/games)
- [Impressionism](/toah/keywords/impressionism)
- [Landscape](/toah/keywords/landscape)
- [Mountain](/toah/keywords/mountain)
- [Nude](/toah/keywords/nude)
- [Oil on Canvas](/toah/keywords/oil-on-canvas)
- [Painting](/toah/keywords/painting)
- [Paris](/toah/keywords/paris)
- [Plant Motif](/toah/keywords/plant-motif)
- [Post-Impressionism](/toah/keywords/post-impressionism)
- [Religious Art](/toah/keywords/religious-art)
- [Romanticism](/toah/keywords/romanticism)
- [Still Life](/toah/keywords/still-life)

### Artist or Maker

- [Cassatt, Mary](/toah/artist/mary-cassatt)
- [Cézanne, Paul](/toah/artist/paul-cezanne)
- [Delacroix, Eugène](/toah/artist/eugene-delacroix)
- [Manet, Édouard](/toah/artist/edouard-manet)
- [Picasso, Pablo](/toah/artist/pablo-picasso)
- [Pissarro, Camille](/toah/artist/camille-pissarro)

### Online Features

- [The Artist Project: “Maureen Gallace on Paul Cézanne’s still life paintings with apples”](http://artistproject.metmuseum.org/5/maureen-gallace/)

- [Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History](/toah/)

- [About](/toah/about/)
- [Rights & Permissions](/toah/rights-and-permissions/)
- [Artists / Makers](/toah/artists-makers/)
- [Keywords](/toah/keywords/)

[Homepage](/ "Homepage")

- [The Met Fifth Avenue](/visit/met-fifth-avenue)



- 1000 Fifth Avenue
- New York, NY 10028
- Phone: 212-535-7710

- [The Met Cloisters](/visit/met-cloisters)



- 99 Margaret Corbin Drive
- Fort Tryon Park
- New York, NY 10040
- Phone: 212-923-3700

- [About The Met](/about-the-met)
- [Mission and History](/about-the-met/history)
- [Collection Areas](/about-the-met/collection-areas)
- [Conservation Departments](/about-the-met/conservation-and-scientific-research)
- [Accessibility](https://www.metmuseum.org/learn/accessibility)
- [Press](/press)

- [Support](/join-and-give/support)
- [Membership](https://engage.metmuseum.org/members/membership/?promocode=56373)
- [Host an Event](/join-and-give/host-an-event)
- [Travel with The Met](/join-and-give/travel-with-the-met)
- [Corporate Support](/join-and-give/corporate-support)

- [Career Opportunities](https://metmuseum.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/metmuseumcareers)
- [Volunteers](/join-and-give/volunteer)
- [Fellowships](/about-the-met/fellowships)
- [Internships](/about-the-met/internships)

Follow us

- [external: http://www.facebook.com/metmuseum](http://www.facebook.com/metmuseum "external: http://www.facebook.com/metmuseum")
- [external: https://twitter.com/metmuseum](https://twitter.com/metmuseum "external: https://twitter.com/metmuseum")
- [external: https://pinterest.com/metmuseum/](https://pinterest.com/metmuseum/ "external: https://pinterest.com/metmuseum/")
- [external: https://www.instagram.com/metmuseum/](https://www.instagram.com/metmuseum/ "external: https://www.instagram.com/metmuseum/")
- [external: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum](https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum "external: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum")

Join our newsletter


Sign Up


- [Accessibility](/learn/accessibility)
- [Site Index](/information/site-index)
- [Terms and Conditions](https://www.metmuseum.org/policies/terms-and-conditions)
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.metmuseum.org/policies/privacy-policy)
- [Contact Information](/about-the-met/contact)

© 2000–2024 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.