January 19 - Happy Birthday, Paul Cézanne

Posted on January 19, 2021

This is an update of my January 19, 2010, post:

Key Points

Paul Cézanne – born on this day in 1839 – is a French artist considered by many, including Matisse and Picasso, to be the father of modern painting.

Born on this date in 1839, Cézanne came out of Impressionism, in which painters used visible brush strokes to explore ordinary subject matter, and which emphasized changing light conditions. Cézanne’s works are usually classified as Post-Impressionist; they are famous for small, repetitive brush strokes and planes of brilliant color. He focused on the basic forms (such as cones, cylinders, and spheres) found in nature and also on optical effects.

Cézanne created hundreds of paintings—landscapes, still life compositions, portraits (including the self-portrait seen above), and other assorted paintings.

Here is a website with art projects inspired by Cézanne.

And here is a resource for lessons, videos, history, and art projects perfect for today!

At Olga’s Gallery, you can scroll through small images of Cezanne’s painting. Click the ones you want to see in a larger format.

At the Garden of Praise, you can read about Cézanne and do a variety of puzzles about him and his works. You can also explore the rest of the Garden of Praise art lessons and puzzles.