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Paul Cézanne: 1839-1906

Born on January 19, 1839 in Aix-en-Provence, France, Paul Cézanne is considered by many to be one of the most important painters of the second half of the 19th century. From 1849 – 1852, he studied at the Ecole Saint-Joseph and from 1852 to 1858 at the Collège Bourbon. In 1857 he attended the Ecole Municipale de Dessin in Aix-en-Provence, where he studied under Joseph Gibert. In 1859, to satisfy his father’s wishes, he began to study law at the Université d’Aix. He also attended the Ecole Municipale de Dessin again from 1858 – 1861. In 1861 Cézanne abandoned his law studies and moved to Paris to pursue his career as a painter.

In 1862 Cézanne met Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir with whom he formed lasting friendships. In 1863, his paintings were shown in the Salon des Refusés, which exhibited works rejected by the Paris Salon. The Salon rejected all of Cézanne’s submissions between 1864 to 1869.

With the onset of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, Cézanne returned to Aix-en-Provence and then L’Estaque, where he continued painting. In the 1870′s he was influenced by Impressionism, particularly the work of Camille Pissarro. Like the Impressionists, Cézanne considered the study of nature essential to painting, however, he opposed many aspects of the Impressionist aesthetic. “Believing colour and form to be inseparable, he tried to emphasize structure and solidity in his work, features he thought neglected by Impressionism. For this reason he was a central figure in Post-impressionism.” In 1874, he participated in the first Impressionist Exhibition, as well as the third in 1877.

In 1882 the Salon accepted his work for the first and only time. Beginning in 1883 Cézanne lived in the South of France, returning to Paris occasionally. Cézanne’s first solo show was held at Ambroise Vollard’s gallery in Paris in 1895. Following that exhibition, his recognition increased, and in 1899 he participated in the Salon des Indépendants in Paris. In 1900 he participated in the Centennial Exhibition in Paris and, in 1903, the Berlin and Vienna Secessions. In 1904 he exhibited at the Salon d’Automne, Paris and had a solo exhibition at the Galerie Cassirer in Berlin.

Between 1883 and 1895, Cézanne’s paintings accented mass and structure, and his composition therefore became more architectural. His move away from Impressionism stemmed from his belief that a painter must interpret as well as record the scene before him. His brushstrokes became broader and thicker, and the use of a palette knife was sometimes evident.

In the final years of Cézanne’s life, many of his landscapes “emphasized the rough appearance of sites, mixing wild vegetation with rocks in unusual, asymmetric framing. His composition became less serene and his colour more violent.” In several works, parts of the canvas were left bare and were painted with highly diluted oils. His fascination with nature continued but “the objective sought is no longer to describe reality but to express a spiritual concept”.

Cézanne rarely dated and often did not sign his paintings making it difficult to determine the chronology of his works with any precision. In his last years his work began to influence many younger artists, including the Fauvists and the Cubists. His influence reached well into the 20th century as well.

Paul Cézanne died of pneumonia on October 22, 1906. He was buried in his hometown of Aix-en-Provence.

For a more detailed biography of Cézanne, visit the MoMA website.

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Sources: Guggenheim Collection, MoMA, Wikipedia

Paul Gauguin: 1848-1903

Born on June 7, 1848, Paul Gauguin in Paris, France, Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a leading French Post-Impressionist artist. Gauguin’s father was a French journalist and his mother was Peruvian. The family left Paris in 1851 for Peru, however Gauguin’s father Clovis, died on the voyage over. Gauguin’s early life experiences in Peru would later have a great influence on the imagery in his paintings. At the age of seven, the family returned to Orléans, France to live with Gauguin’s grandfather.

Though Gauguin had been interested in art since childhood, he held several jobs before turning to painting full-time. Including fulfilling his required military service as a pilot’s assistant in the merchant marine, Gauguin also joined the navy, held a job as a stock broker, a sales representative for a canvas manufacturer, and other odd jobs that sustained his painting career.

In 1873, Gauguin married Mette Sophie Gad, a Danish woman with whom he had five children. In his free time, he began painting and became friends with Camille Pissarro and met other artists including Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh. Gauguin received little formal artistic training, though he was tutored by some of the professionals in his community.

As he became more involved with his art, Gauguin rented a studio, and showed paintings in Impressionist exhibitions between 1881 and 1882. In 1885, with a growing desire to paint full-time, Gauguin left his job as a stock broker and his wife and children in Copenhagen, returning to Paris.

In 1886, Gauguin began his lifelong migration between regions of French Polynesia and Paris often surviving on little or no money. Disappointed with Impressionism and influenced by folk art and Japanese prints, Gauguin evolved towards Cloisonnism and then Synthetism and Primitavism. Gauguin is considered to be the first artist to achieve broad success using the Primitive technique.

In the autumn of 1888, Gauguin traveled to Arles France where he stayed with Vincent van Gogh for two months, working together and discussing artistic theories. The tension between the artists grew and they quarreled often. Van Gogh was vulnerable and hyper-sensitive, and a bullying and egocentric Gauguin often threatened to leave. It was during this time that van Gogh lost a portion of his left ear though whether Gauguin was directly involved in this incident in still debated to this day.

From 1891-93, Gauguin lived in Tahiti where he spent considerable time working on his sculpture and woodcuts. In 1893, he returned to France where he prepared for his exhibition at Galerie Durand-Ruel in Paris which was not considered to be a success.

Gauguin returned to Tahiti in 1895 : “it was a period of intense creativity, during which he painted and sculpted a great deal and seemed to go further in his metaphysical questioning, obsessed by the thought of death”. However, in April 1897, he learned of the death of his daughter Aline, to whom he was deeply attached. “Gauguin tried unsuccessfully to kill himself by taking arsenic. Physically and morally shaken, he took an office job in Papeete, which allowed him to earn a living for a while. He seemed to become detached from his own work. When Maurice Denis wrote to him asking if he would participate in an exhibition of the Nabis in Paris, he replied in June 1899 ‘I no longer paint except on Sundays and holidays’.”

Gauguin’s paintings significantly influenced Modern art movements and artists including Matisse, Picasso, Braque, Fauvism, Cubism, and Orphism. Gauguin also created two- and three-dimensional sculptures and functional objects ranging from portrait busts and architectural reliefs to objects such as vases, knife handles, and wine casks. He was also an influential supporter of wood engraving and woodcuts as art forms.

In the last years of his life, Gauguin succumbed to various illnesses, including syphilis. He died on May 8, 1903 and remains buried at Calvary Cemetery – Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

For a complete biography and to view his complete works, visit MoMA or Paul-Gauguin.net.