A highly sensitive topic for an analytical essay is discussing the genius of famous artists combined with a critical examination of their talent. The objects of this paper are the biography and art of Cézanne, a famous French post-impressionist painter whose work fell in the second half of the 19th century. Paul Cézanne painted all his life, and some of his paintings, objectively lacking deep meaning and demonstrating superior artistic skills, were sold at auctions for enormous sums of money. Consequently, it is appropriate to assume that there is something more than collectors are willing to pay for when they look at not insignificant paintings by famous authors. This essay summarizes the proposed reading of the week.
It should be understood that the fine art of the French context of the period was very elitist, so anyone could not become an outstanding master simply because of talent. In fact, Paul Cézanne and his friend and mentor Emile Zola were convinced that art is defined precisely by innate giftedness that develops through the technique: hence, only a few have the potential to paint really well. Cézanne was able to gain access to the famous local Salon des Artistes only after 19 years of active endeavor, which served as the impetus for the artist’s involvement with the Impressionist group.
Cézanne’s life began a most tumultuous period as his work became increasingly recognizable and recognized by notable artists. In many ways, these effects were made possible by the conflict between the classical traditions of painting and the new approach of the modern masters. Useless in the opinion of the classics, the works possessed incredible grace and ideology from the perspective of modernists. The heated debates only raised the level of Cézanne’s popularity, with the conflict of ambivalence embedded more strongly in the man’s reputation.
In fact, these debates were much more profound than those surrounding the discussion of Paul Cézanne’s talent. Modernist painting contradicted the literary and mythological conceptions of classical art, in which the poses, feelings, and emotions of the characters were fake. On the contrary, the Impressionists’ ideology was based on the desire to awaken real feelings in the viewer and induce an active response. The controversy culminated in an extended essay by Charles Baudelaire, who concluded the need for tension between ephemeral modernity and sustained tradition for art.
Ultimately, the reputation created around the artist Cézanne brought him widespread popularity, albeit posthumously. Immediately after his death, the artist’s prominent works were exhibited in an updated, trendy art gallery, where they were seen by Picasso and Matisse. Consequently, Cézanne’s reputation changed markedly along with the general change in views on the work of the modernists of the second half of the 19th century. The avant-garde role of the pioneering impressionist was forever paired with the biography of the artist, from whose works one can study the revolutionary radicalism and aestheticism of the era.