Paul Cézanne was born January 19, 1839, in Aix-en-Provence, France, the son of a wealthy banker.  After dropping out of law school in 1861, he arrived in Paris and wanted to become a painter.  He did not succeed in entering the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.  Cézanne and Emile Zola were friends.  In 1872, he was exposed by Pissarro to the Impressionist technique and outlook; two years later he took part in the Impressionists' first group exhibition.  In 1877 at the third exhibition, it was his work that especially aroused the critics' indignation and fury. Under the pressure of many attacks, he withdrew from society and concentrated on his work. After 1886, he lived principally in his native town of Aix.  A great commemorative exhibition of his work in 1907 had a lasting influence on twentieth-century art: it gave birth to cubism.  He died in Aix on October 22, 1906.

The Cardplayers, 1890-92	Mardi Gras, 1888

Girl at the Piano, 1868-69