Bathers
1874–75
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
15 x 18 1/8 in. (38.1 x 46 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Joan Whitney Payson, 1975
Accession Number
1976.201.12
Tags
Art Historical Context
Paul Cézanne's *Bathers* (1874–75), an oil on canvas measuring 15 x 18 1/8 inches, captures a serene moment of three female nudes bathing amid a lush landscape. Created during Cézanne's early mature period, this intimate work reflects his evolving style as a pioneer of Post-Impressionism. While influenced by the Impressionists—whose first exhibition he joined in 1874—Cézanne moved beyond their emphasis on fleeting light and color, prioritizing solid form and structural composition to convey timeless harmony between figures and nature. The painting's theme of bathers was a lifelong obsession f...
About the Artist
Paul Cézanne · 1839–1906
Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) stands as one of the most influential figures in the history of modern art, often called the "Father of Modern Art" for his revolutionary approach to form, color, and pictorial space. Born in Aix-en-Provence to a wealthy banker who discouraged artistic pursuits, Cézanne rejected a legal career to pursue painting, though he remained financially dependent on his family until...