About this work
What strikes you first is the cathedral-like architecture of the composition itself. A group of nude women — eleven in the National Gallery version — are gathered in a woody glade, seated, standing, and reclining, some partially draped with white cloths.
Their bodies are modelled in warm browny-oranges and blues, strongly outlined in blue, with thick, confident outlines built from multiple marks — making us simultaneously aware of three-dimensional solidity and the flat patterns of their silhouettes.
The massive trees at the left and right corners arc inward, connecting across the central space to form a kind of arch that covers the entire structure.
The atmosphere is strange and beautiful — the landscape largely bluish, a soft haze in which sky, water, and vegetation merge, and by which the figures are delicately overcast.
Cézanne was fascinated by the nude human figure but uncomfortable with models, so he derived such scenes from his imagination and his rich knowledge of classical and Renaissance art.
*Bathers* is one of three large paintings of female bathers that Cézanne worked on during the final decade of his life — works that represent the culmination of his lifelong investigation of this subject and the climax of his entire career.
The precise dating is difficult; it is possible that Cézanne worked simultaneously on all three canvases, beginning in the mid-1890s and continuing until his death in 1906, as each shows evidence of reworking.
Cézanne was interested in reducing the human figure to three forms — cylinder, cone, and sphere — simplifying them in a way analogous to his still life paintings.
The composition, which echoes the pyramidal base of a mountain, as well as the use of colour, serves to integrate the women with the landscape.
The *Bathers* series was hugely influential on early twentieth-century modern art, particularly Cubism, and had a lasting impact on Picasso and Matisse.
So taken was Matisse with the series that he took out a loan in 1899 to purchase *Three Bathers* (1879–89).
As a print, *Bathers* rewards a room with height and a willingness to hold still. The cool blue-green atmosphere and diffused, haze-like light make it especially at home in spaces that receive indirect northern light — a reading room, a large hallway, or a spare, contemplative study where nothing else clamours for attention. With each version of the *Bathers*, Cézanne moved away from the traditional presentation of paintings, intentionally creating works that would not appeal to the novice viewer — aiming for a timeless quality that would speak equally to all
