Paul Cézanne

1839-1906

At school, Paul Cézanne excelled in Latin, Greek and French literature, but when he went to Paris to study art, he was taken for a country bumpkin. He was shy and had a strong provincial accent. The School of Fine Arts refused to admit him so he studied on his own. When Cézanne first exhibited his art, the critics and public hated it. One critic called him "a jackass painting with his tail." Stung by the insults, he returned home to the South of France where his father, a rich banker, supported him. When he was 47, Cézanne finally married the mother of his 14-year old son. He continued to paint until a few days before he died at 67.