The Card Players, 1892-93 [Photo provided to China Daily]

Much of Cézanne's life was dominated by his association with the novelist Émile Zola. They met as schoolboys and became lifelong friends, exchanging numerous poignant letters, until in 1886, the artist angrily parted ways following the publication of the author's L'Oeuvre. Cézanne thought Zola had based the protagonist, Claude Lantier, on him – the narrative depicts the failure of an artist, a lost genius who, powerless to create, ends up committing suicide.

Of course, Cézanne's reality turned out much different. One of his paintings from The Card Players series sold for $250 million to the royal family of Qatar in 2011, making it the second most expensive painting ever sold.

The letters Cézanne left behind are among art's most touching reads. Five years prior to his death, he wrote to the artist Gustave Heiries in 1901: "I have perhaps come too soon. I was the painter of your generation more than my own. You are young… As for me, I'm getting old. I won't have time to express myself. Let's get to work." To his son, Cézanne wrote: "Have a little confidence in yourself, and work. Never forget your art, sic itur ad astra ["thus one reaches the stars", from Book 9 of the Aeneid]."

La Vie des Champs is a vision to living, feeling, sensation and ambition, and the dynamic epicentre of art at the dawn of its modern crossroads.