Dr. Albert C. Barnes established the Barnes Foundation in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts.” During the next seventeen years, he and Foundation teacher Violette de Mazia coauthored four books of aesthetic philosophy, art criticism, and art history. The Art of Cézanne, published in 1939, was their fourth and final collaboration. The book was the culmination of a longstanding interest in Cézanne, whose art Dr. Barnes began collecting in 1912. Chapters on Cézanne appeared in the first edition of The Art in Painting (1925) and in The Art of Renoir (1935). Not satisfied with the quality of the “data” on which their earlier efforts were based, Barnes and de Mazia undertook a thorough examination of Cézanne’s work, applying their scientific method of art appreciation to a study of the artist’s form and technique. While conducting research on Renoir in Europe in 1933 and 1934, the authors took side trips to investigate Cézanne, traveling to Spain to explore the possible influence of El Greco, and visiting several private collections and Cézanne’s former residence to collect further information.

These preliminary notes were passed along to Foundation associate Laurence Buermeyer, who proposed a general outline for the book and worked with Barnes and de Mazia on drafts and revisions at all stages of the book’s development. Several other Foundation staff members assisted with the preparation of the manuscript. The Foundation’s former recording secretary, Laura V. Geiger (known as “Jane”), had retired in November 1935, and Cynthia Flannery Stine was hired to take on some of her duties. Stine and the sisters Nelle E. Mullen and Mary Mullen took dictation, typed notes and drafts, checked grammar and punctuation, and helped to verify catalogue data. Another Foundation employee, Philip Jenney, who later went on to manage Dr. Barnes’s farming interests, also compiled catalogue data and edited manuscripts. Foundation teacher and artist Angelo Pinto contributed the design of the book jacket. Despite the best efforts of this team, the book missed Dr. Barnes’s proposed publication date of January 18, 1939, the centenary of Cézanne’s birth. It was published a few weeks later on February 9, 1939.

The book was praised by reviewers for its comprehensive scope and lucid, concise prose. Comparing Cézanne to James Joyce, Barnes and de Mazia argued that although the artist's works might seem bizarre and unintelligible to a novice, they could be understood through careful analysis. Viewers could learn to see Cézanne’s true virtues and defects by carefully examining both his technique and the effect he intended to achieve. The book is unusual for its long biographical section, in which Barnes explores the psychology of romanticism and its relation to the essential nature of power, using Cézanne’s life and work as an exemplar. Although The Art of Cézanne sold relatively few copies on its initial publication, it is still in print and is currently a part of the Barnes Foundation’s educational program.