Famous Artists: Watercolor masters
Inherit the best of tradition while moving forward in your own

Still Life with Watermelon and Pomegranates, 1900-1906
Watercolor and pencil on paper
12" x 18 1/2"
Paul Cézanne
(French, 1839-1906)

Paul Cézanne was born on January 19, 1839, in Aix-en-Provence, France. While in school, he had become an intimate friend of fellow artist Emile Zola. After a failed return to law school he spent the next twenty years dividing his time between the Midi and Paris. He briefly attended the Atelier Suisse with Camille Pissarro. Cézanne also had long friendships with painters Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Cézanne's watercolor technique relied on subtle overlapping washes incorporating the white of the paper as in integral element in the piece.
His manner was to apply his colors pure with only the rare mixing on the palette perferring to allow the layered color washes of subtley different hues to merge into additional colors. Cézanne's direct drawing in either charcoal or pencil often played a major role in supporting the stylistic foundation of his watercolor paintings.

Additional Links:
guggenheim collection
humanities web
expo-cezanne.com
cezanne.com (in french)
artlex.com