Portrait de Mme Cézanne

March 1886

Zola's Novel "The Masterpiece" and the Crisis of a Friendship

Zola published "The Masterpiece" (L'Œuvre), a novel about a failed painter, Claude Lantier, in whom Cézanne recognized himself. It was long believed that the friendship ended forever, but a rediscovered letter of 1887 shows that relations continued for some time.

28 avril 1886

Married: Marie-Hortense Fiquet

28 April 1886

Marriage to Hortense Fiquet

He married Hortense Fiquet in Aix in the presence of his parents. The marriage was concluded not out of love but to secure the rights of their fourteen-year-old son Paul as a legitimate heir.

October 1886

Death of His Father and Inheritance

After the death of Louis-Auguste, Cézanne, together with his mother and sisters, inherited his fortune, including the Jas de Bouffan; the artist's financial situation eased considerably ("he left me an income of 25,000 francs").

1888–1890 · Résidence

quai d'Anjou

1890

Onset of Diabetes

Cézanne developed diabetes; the illness further complicated his relations with those around him.