Art Encounters with the father of modernism at the Fondation Beyeler
The painting "Seven Bathers" (around 1900) in the Cézanne exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler.
Image: Keystone
Paul Cézanne as he saw and portrayed himself in 1890.
Image: Keystone
The Montaigne Sainte-Victoire as Cézanne captured it on canvas in 1904/05.
Image: Keystone
The painting "Seven Bathers" (around 1900) in the Cézanne exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler.
Image: Keystone
Paul Cézanne as he saw and portrayed himself in 1890.
Image: Keystone
The Montaigne Sainte-Victoire as Cézanne captured it on canvas in 1904/05.
Image: Keystone
From the characteristic still lifes and portraits to the famous bathers and the iconic portraits of Montaigne Sainte-Victoire: the Cézanne exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler shows why the French painter is celebrated as the father of modernism.
23.01.2026, 14:23
SDA
As soon as you enter the first room of the exhibition at the Fondation Beyeler, you are immersed in the artistic cosmos of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906). On display are two versions of his famous card players from the 1890s. There are also two self-portraits on the walls as well as a painting of the painter's favorite motif: Montaigne Sainte-Victoire near his birthplace of Aix-en-Provence.
You will encounter this mountain several times during the course of the tour. In seven oil paintings and two watercolors, to be precise. Hardly any of the portraits seem to correspond to the others. Cézanne captured the mountain from different locations and at different times of day.
With this mountain and other landscape paintings from Provence, Cézanne took a step that can be considered a milestone of classical modernism or modernism par excellence. Instead of depicting objects, houses or trees, he began to paint the world as he perceived it.
Art as a parallel world to nature
He developed forms from colors and no longer defined art as a medium serving the purpose of depiction, but as a parallel world to nature. From 1900 onwards, the figurative began to blur in his paintings, which led Picasso, among others, to describe Cézanne as the "father of us all".
Apart from the first room, the exhibition, which focuses on his late work, is organized thematically. This makes the development of Cézanne's painting clearly tangible.
This is the case with his numerous still lifes with fruit, as well as his famous bathers, six of which are grouped together in one room. And it can be seen in his portraits, in which - as in the case of the gardener Vallier, who was obviously a favorite of his - the facial features become increasingly blurred and disappear over the years of creation.
Loans from important collections
The Fondation Beyeler has managed to bring together 58 oil paintings and 21 watercolors from important museum and private collections in Europe and the USA for the exhibition. On display are outstanding examples of how Cézanne changed painting.
The Cézanne exhibition will be open to the public from Sunday and will run until May 25, 2026. The quality of the exhibition suggests that the Fondation Beyeler will be able to seamlessly follow on from the blockbuster exhibition of works by Japanese star artist Yayoi Kusama, which ended on Monday.
