The Perseverance of Paul Cézanne.

Abstract

Paul Cezanne (1839–1906) was born in Aix-en-Provence, a town just over 30 km north of Marseille (1, 2). He received classical education and was widely read—his letters contain quotes from Virgil and Horace. In one of them, from January 17, 1859, Cezanne Latinized his name, signing the letter “Paulus Cezasinus” (3). He spent his early youth with 2 close friends (they were called “inseparables”), both of whom achieved future prominence. One was the novelist Emile Zola (1840–1902) and the other was Baptistin Baillie (1841–1918) who became Professor of Optics and Acoustics at the School of Physics and Chemistry of the City of Paris (3). Cezanne corresponded with Zola until 1886. A French film “Cezanne et Moi,” directed by Daniele Thompson and based on the friendship and rivalry between Cezanne and Zola, was released in 2016 (4). Cezanne attended the Free Municipal School of Drawing in Aix and decided to become a painter. This was against the will of his father, who wanted him to go into banking. In 1861, following Zola, Cezanne left for Paris. There he became associated with the Impressionists, who at the time were an …