Paul Cezanne, whom Pablo Picasso called the father of us all, is widely considered to be 20th-century modernisms presiding genius. This essay accompanies each work, illuminating its significance and placing it in its historical moment in the development of modern art.



Paul Cézanne, whom Pablo Picasso called ‘the father of us all’, is widely considered to be 20th-century modernism’s presiding genius. Cézanne’s pioneering synthesis of a theory of form with the visual immediacy of Impressionism in the late 19th century inspired Henri Matisse and the Fauves and led to the development of Cubism by Picasso and Georges Braque. This latest volume in the MoMA Artist Series guides readers through ten of Cézanne’s most memorable achievements, selected fromThe Museum of Modern Art’s substantial collection of his work. His iconic figure paintings The Bather and Boy in a Red Vest are featured, along with emblematic still lifes and landscapes from earlier and later years. A lively essay by Carolyn Lanchner accompanies each work, illuminating its significance and placing it in its historical moment in the development of modern art.