With his distinctive paintings of landscapes, figures and still-lifes, Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) profoundly influenced the Cubists and the direction of 20th-century art. This account of his life and work traces his full career from his early years in Aix-en-Provence, through his time in Paris studying the Old Masters and working with the Impressionists, to his later, reclusive years back in Provence, when he produced the pictures that made him the precursor of a new art. The book roots Cezanne in his own time and place, examining his work within the issues and debates of his own generation, particularly those about the essential characteristics and direction of French art and society.