Professor Alex Danchev gives a fresh insight into Paul Cézanne with his modern translation of the letters of the great French artist. He argues that the letters show what many of Cézanne’s contemporaries failed to comprehend – that he was a singular thinker and an uncompromising seeker of artistic truth. The previous translation of Cezanne’s correspondence dates from the 1930s, and Danchev’s new appreciation of the 250 letters to family, friends, other artists and major cultural figures of the 19th century such as Emile Zola is a landmark event.

Danchev is professor of international relations at the University of Nottingham and also author of Cezanne: A Life, and Georges Braque: A Life.