Paul Cézanne began to draw in early childhood. His father was initially opposed to his artistic vocation and would have preferred to see him become a lawyer, but in 1861 he finally gave him permission to leave his native region and study painting in Paris. There Cézanne assimilated the influence of the Impressionists and their colour work and exhibited with them in 1874 and 1877. Disappointed by the poor reception his work received in Paris, he returned to Aix, where he painted for the rest of his life. Today, Cézanne is considered to be a great innovator of pictorial space.