Online Lecture: Paul Cézanne — The Father of Modern Art

Who are some of the most important artists of Parisian modernism? And what are the threads that run through the work of those artists? Let’s explore these questions, and unpack why the School of Paris is so universally beloved through four stand-alone lectures — each focused on one of the kingpins of modernist art. Experience Cezanne, Matisse, Modigliani and Chagall while learning what makes the most innovative late-19th and early-20th century French art so extraordinary. This lecture will focus on Paul Cézanne, who is among the most celebrated painters in the canon. As Henri Matisse noted, “In modern art, it is undoubtedly to Cézanne that I owe the most.” With his portraits, still-lives and landscapes, he sought to – as he famously quipped – “treat nature by means of the cylinder, the sphere, the cone.” Cézanne’s work bridged the gap between Impressionism and the pioneering developments in the School of Paris during the first decade of the 20th century. Discover why Pablo Picasso believed he was “the father of us all,” and how his remarkable paintings had such a profound impact on generations of artists.