On Cezanne's Painting Style And Its Impact On Modern Art

Being one of the three prominent representatives of Post Impressionism, Cezanne is regarded as the forerunner of western modern art together with Van Gogh and Gauguin. Moreover, Cezanne is thought by western critics to be "A master of epoch-making" in the history of western fine art. There is a saying "before Cezanne" and "after Cezanne". Cezanne's influence and contribution to the 20th century's painting is profound. Almost all artists have some relations to him more or less. In Cezanne's opinion, to paint doesn't mean to copy nature blindly, and it is to seek for the harmony of many relations. And after rearranging, artists should create " the second nature" on painting according to the direct instinct of artist from nature. Cezanne broke the traditional perspective, and he advocated that we should show space by color instead of mold. He insisted that artist analyze object in principle, orderly and abstract way, and proposed that artist deal with objects by view of cylinder, ball and circular cone. These theories have promoted the prevalent of pure painting and the development of formalism painting in Europe. The aim of the art before Cezanne including impressionism is to paint nature objectively. However, artists began to emphasize the importance of subjective feeling after Cezanne. The innovative spirit of Cezanne in painting is highly regarded by western artists in the 20th century. Cezanne's art style has influenced the western modern art in last hundred years, and he is called "the father of modern art".