Les Grandes Baigneuses (The Bathers)
| Support Type: | Canvas |
| Paint Type: | Oil Paint |
| Current Location: | Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA |
| Location History: | 1898-1905: Created by Cézanne's studio in Aix-en-Provence, France, and remained there until 1906, till his death. 1907: Parisian Art dealer Ambroise Vollard purchased from Cezanne's son. Early 1920s: Auguste Pellerin, Paris. Stayed in the family till 1936. 1936: Sent to New York through Wildenstein & Co. as an agent for Pellerin. 1937: Purchased by the Philadelphia Museum of Art for $110,000. Facilitated by a museum benefactor, Joseph E. Widener. |
Cezanne’s The Bathers is not just a mere depiction of leisure activity, but this artwork acts as a monumental experimentation with contrast between nature and humanity. Since it's an unfinished work by Paul, yet it reflects a powerful study source of gothic arches prominent for framing figures, here it could be seen through the leaning of trees. For instance, this artwork stands as an excellent example of human anatomical study at a glance. Further, the foreground and background seem to be connected forcefully, so that there is no immediate setup to distract the viewers. Hence, it could be assumed as an experiment or practice work of Cezanne. In addition, while looking at the figures, the limbs are not rendered as per the laws of biology, which could be that Paul purposely painted them wrong to make them fit the compositional alignment, where one could understand Paul’s intention towards balanced, solid design rather than realistic rendition. Therefore, The Bathers suggest that humans and nature are part of a single eternal structure rather than being separate elements. Hence, only the copied work cannot become a reflection of real study; the abstract could also reflect real life with a sense of balance and proper order.