A well-known English writer and art critic devoted a book to the life and work of one of the most significant French painters of the second half of the XIX - early XX century. The ways of Cezanne's creativity evolution are traced, his artistic method is investigated, in connection with which his works are considered in detail. Outlining the facts of the biography of Cezanne, the author pays much attention to the friendship of the artist with the writer E. Zola, as well as the master's relationship with impressionist artists, primarily with K. Pissarro, E. Manet, K. Monet and others . Excerpts from Cezanne's correspondence with many figures of French culture are given, as well as his youthful poems. The dramatic fate of Cézanne is shown against the broad background of the cultural life of France of his time.