This is a remarkable new biography of a cultural icon. Today we view Cezanne as a monumental figure, but during his lifetime (1839-1906), many did not understand him or his work. With brilliant insight, drawing or a vast range of primary sources, Alex Danchev tells the story of an artist who was never accepted into the official Salon: he was considered a revolutionary at best an a barbarian at worst, whose paintings were unfinished, distorted and strange.