Among Cezanne's closest friends were Emile Zola and Batistin Baille. Despite the fact that Cezanne was shy and rather withdrawn, he would remain very close to Zola until 1888, when they had a falling-out. The reason? Zola used Cezanne as an inspiration for one of his characters in the novel L'Oeuvre.
If at the beginning Cezanne was strongly influenced by Camille Pissarro - who played both the role of artistic master and to a degree of fatherly figure. Pissarro himself was impressed by Cezanne's talent and determination, and even when the critics and other painters rejected the young artist's style and ideas, Pissarro supported him. Much later Cezanne would often thank Pissarro and didn't hesitate to name him the "Dean of Impressionism", remembering fondly how they worked together and just how much Pissarro helped him in the early years.
Due to his shyness (for he didn't lack the money) Cezanne rarely found models for his nude compositions, so he often worked out of his fantasy and imagination. At a time when painter easily found young ladyfriends to pose for their nudes (and often began romantic relationships this way) Cezanne didn't seem to follow the norm. At start. For later, much to the surprise of his friends, would began a stormy relationship to Marie Hortense Fiquet, a popular model, and the couple would even marry. After 17 years. During these 17 years Cezanne kept the liaison a secret to his parents.
Cezanne often experimented and wasn't afraid of trying new techniques and approaches. When he painted still-lifes he often used artificial flowers, for they kept much better for a long time. Also, he liked to return time and time again to an artwork and cover yesterday's work with new colours and shapes. Also, and this was surprising for many, he painted without first making a sketch or a drawing.
Although in his last years he was widely regarded as one of the most influential and respected painters of his time, nobody could have predicted that his paintings would one century later bring such high prices. Cezanne himself would be amazed and amused to see his paintings, The Card Players, fetching more than 250 million dollars at a 2011 sale and becoming at that time the second most expensive paintings in the world.
