Artist. Called "The Father of Modern Art," he is most remembered for his post Impressionist work, and his influence on the development of Modern Art. His study of the underlying structures of composition became the foundations of Cubism and Abstraction. His use of color and tone, combined with the formal elements of composition, made it possible for later artists to question how they represented what they saw on canvas. Pablo Picasso called him, "the Father of us all". Born in France, the son of a successful retailer, Louis-Auguste Cézanne, and his mistress, Anne-Elisabeth-Honorine Aubert. His parents did not marry until Paul was five years old. At age 13, he attended Bourbon College, where he met Emile Zola, who went on to become a successful novelist, and they remained friends for most of their lives. When Zola went to Paris, his letters to Cézanne encouraged him to move there as well. Cézanne's father did not appreciate art, and encouraged his son to learn a more worthy profession, so in 1859, Cézanne spent a year studying law, passing all of his exams. However, he yearned for Paris, and in 1861, he was able to convince his father to provide him a small allowance, and he moved to Paris to begin painting. After six months of failure, he returned to Aix where another year with his father convinced him to try painting in Paris again. When he met rejection by the famous Paris Art Schools, his friend, Zola, introduced him to Impressionist painters such as Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas. At age 30, he met Hortense Fiquet, who became his mistress, and she helped him change his perspective from dark and negative, to more positive themes, such as landscapes. After the birth of their son, which he kept a secret from his parents for many years, he moved to Pontoise, where he worked with the artist Camillie Pissarro. Pissarro became a mentor and tutored Cézanne on the techniques of Impressionist paintings, which led to his first exhibition in 1874. Learning from Pissarro, he soon developed his own style and quickly moved beyond Impressionism into what is now termed "Post-Impressionist" styles of artists like Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. In 1886, Emile Zola's novel, "L'Oeuvre," was published; its main character was a failed artist who bore many similarities to Cézanne. Deeply hurt by the book, Cézanne ended his friendship with Zola. That same year, he married Hortense and revealed his family to his parents. In October 1886, his father died, leaving him an inheritance that made him wealthy and independent. In later years, he began to live the life of a recluse, but in 1895, his paintings finally began to attract attention, and very quickly he became renown as an important painter. Caught in a sudden downpour while walking to work one day, he developed pneumonia, and he died within a week.