Bather at the Seashore (Baigneuse au bord de la mer)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Between about 1875 and 1879, Cézanne began in earnest to paint compositions of bathers—male and female, single and in groups—in a landscape. He executed just over 30 bather paintings and a handful of watercolors during this time. This small canvas is the artist's first depiction of a single female nude by the sea. The composition is divided into three horizontal planes: sky, sea, and the grass. The youthful woman rests on a towel and is outlined in blue paint, her body strangely contorted as she stretches her arms. The slight diagonal slant of her pose invites the viewer to look toward the horizon.

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