Where can you see Paul Cézanne in London?

At the Courtauld Gallery: The Card Players. At the National Gallery: Bathers. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Paul Cézanne's most famous work in London?

The Card Players, of about 1892 to 1896, at the Courtauld Gallery. Two farm workers face each other across a small table, absorbed in their cards. One has a pipe. Nothing happens, and it is as solid as a building.

When and where was Paul Cézanne born?

On 19 January 1839, at Aix-en-Provence, France. Paul Cézanne died on 22 October 1906, at Aix-en-Provence, France, aged about 67.

What is Paul Cézanne known for?

Painted five versions of The Card Players: the Courtauld's has two players. Worked on his large Bathers for the last ten years of his life. Paul Cézanne was a French painter, of Post-Impressionism.

Painter, 1839 to 1906

Paul Cézanne

Samuel Courtauld bought Cézanne when British museums would not hang him. What he gave to the gallery that carries his name is still the best reason to visit it.

Born: 1839, Aix-en-Provence, France
Died: 1906, Aix-en-Provence, France
Movement: Post-Impressionism
In London: 2 works in 2 museums

Where to see Paul Cézanne in London

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

The Courtauld Gallery1 work

The Card Players
about 1892 to 1896
Two farm workers face each other across a small table, absorbed in their cards. One has a pipe. Nothing happens, and it is as solid as a building.

The National Gallery1 work

Bathers
about 1894 to 1905
Eleven nudes under leaning trees, built out of blue, ochre and green in blocks. When the gallery bought it in 1964 there were complaints. Picasso and Matisse had already learned everything from it.

The life of Paul Cézanne

Cézanne was born in Aix-en-Provence in 1839, the son of a banker, and was at school with Émile Zola. He came to Paris, was refused by the Salon for twenty years, and showed with the Impressionists. Then he went home to Provence and worked alone.

He painted the same things again and again: the Mont Sainte-Victoire, bathers, still lifes, men playing cards. He built them out of small planes of colour, and the Cubists took it from there. He was caught in a storm while painting outdoors in October 1906 and died a week later.

What to know

Painted five versions of The Card Players: the Courtauld's has two players
Worked on his large Bathers for the last ten years of his life

Born: 19 January 1839, Aix-en-Provence, France
Died: 22 October 1906, Aix-en-Provence, France

Paul Cézanne: common questions

Where can you see Paul Cézanne in London?: At the Courtauld Gallery: The Card Players. At the National Gallery: Bathers. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Paul Cézanne's most famous work in London?: The Card Players, of about 1892 to 1896, at the Courtauld Gallery. Two farm workers face each other across a small table, absorbed in their cards. One has a pipe. Nothing happens, and it is as solid as a building.
When and where was Paul Cézanne born?: On 19 January 1839, at Aix-en-Provence, France. Paul Cézanne died on 22 October 1906, at Aix-en-Provence, France, aged about 67.
What is Paul Cézanne known for?: Painted five versions of The Card Players: the Courtauld's has two players. Worked on his large Bathers for the last ten years of his life. Paul Cézanne was a French painter, of Post-Impressionism.