Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), a painter, sculptor and draughtsman, was one of the most important Post-Impressionist artists of the 19th century. He studied in Paris and then returned to his native Provence in 1866, where he lived in isolation for much of his life. His paintings were dominated by dark colors, yet remained eloquent even as they appeared unfinished due to a lack of refinement. Cézanne's abstracted figures in works like Bathers (c.1905), inspired many later artists like Georges Braque whose Cubism movement was partly inspired by Cézanne's tendency toward simplifying forms into geometric shapes with strong contrasts of light and shadow. 

Cézanne’s work is considered to be the very beginning of modern art. As an artist and a thinker Cézanne fought against many of the traditional artistic conventions of his time. In particular he was opposed to Academic Classicism which insisted on an idealized depiction of nature using classical composition and form in paintings.