As an artist, Paul Cézanne sought to capture the secrets and essence of the world around him--a world he perceived as phenomena constantly in flux. This book explores Cézanne's oeuvre through the lens of that philosophy, thoughtfully organizing individual works into a series of thematic phases. Breaking up pictorial genres, it sheds light on the fluid interplay among the artist's still life, landscapes, and portraits. Cézanne's practice of studying and imitating his predecessors and contemporaries is explored as a fundamental feature of his work. It also delves into the artist's reliance on his emotional, rather than objective, perception of reality. Filled with full color reproductions of the artist's famous and lesser-known works, as well as illuminating essays by leading curators and critics, this groundbreaking exploration offers readers an unprecedented appraisal of one of the world's most loved artists.