Paul Cezanne - The Man & The Mountain Documentary VHS | Art Biography Film | Perfect for Art History Students & Classic Film Collectors

Product Description Richly illustrated with Cezanne's paintings and with views of the countryside that inspired them, this program focuses on the artist's use of a single image--Mont St. Victoire in Provence--to define form, color, and light. It opens with the artist at 67, at odds with both peers and critics, and traces Cezanne's career to his final recognition as the "father of modern painting. Paul Cezanne: The Man and the Mountain Amazon.com What did Picasso mean when he said, "Cézanne was the father of us all"? That's the question Cézanne: The Man and the Mountain sets out to answer, and it does so lyrically, even as it presents a portrait of a recluse at odds with his birthplace, Aix-en-Provence, France, yet so captivated by a nearby mountain, Sainte Victoire, that he returns to paint it dozens of times at different angles and in different seasons. "As a painter I am more clear-sighted before nature," Cézanne is quoted as saying, and much contemporary footage of the French landscape that inspired him is included, as well as abundant examples of his work. The program relies heavily on what appear to be quotes from Cézanne's diary, in which he constantly explains why he does what he does. "As a painter I belong more to a future generation than my own," says the man who considered landscape "his only regular companion." Without obscuring his often dark view of life, the video shows how "the father of modern painting's" use of color, feeling for depth, and attention to form brought a long-lasting light to the art world. - -Valerie J. Nelson