Dr Julian Beecroft is a freelance writer specializing in art and cultural history. For Flame Tree, he has written books on Monet, Renoir, Dalí, Kahlo and Art Nouveau. He is also the author of Lost Cities and Secret Cities, also published by Flame Tree, as well as a guide to the culture and history of London, published in 2017. He has contributed to The Guardian, The Telegraph, 1843 (The Economist magazine) and The London Magazine.

Born in Aix-en-Provence, Paul Cézanne (1839?1906) was to feel the pull of his birth land and return there to paint his most iconic work. Educated in Aix, he studied drawing before briefly making an effort to follow his father's wishes by attending law school. Inevitably, however, he yielded to his vocation and left for Paris in 1861, where he was to strike up a crucial relationship with Camille Pissarro. His work was exhibited at the first Salon des Refusés in 1863, and despite his regular submissions he only ever succeeded in having one work accepted by the official Salon. He would move between Paris and Provence over the years, exhibiting twice with the Impressionists but not with success, eventually settling in his cherished south to focus on his own distinctive work.