Art Lives Series: Paul Cezanne 1996

Directed by Janice Sutherland

Paul Cézanne counts as the father of modern painting. Far from Paris, in the South of France, his obstinacy as man and artist made him a pioneer of a new way of seeing. Returning always to the same sujets – the Mont Sainte-Victoire, bathing figures, or still lifes – he abandoned central perspective, distorted body-shapes and broke all the traditional rules of landscape painting. Aided by experts, and descendants of the artist, Matthew Collings gives a thorough introduction to Cézanne’s life and work, exploring the lifelong artistic quest of the man whom Picasso called “my only master”.