The Toilette (La Toilette)

Discussion

FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG

Toilette scenes, which typically depict women in the process of bathing, fixing hair, powdering, and dressing, was a popular subject for progressive and academic painters alike in the late 19th century. Indeed, it was a perfect subject for avant-garde artists committed to depicting the female nude in a realistic setting, and many of Cézanne's peers, such as Degas, Manet, Morisot, Seurat, and Toulouse Lautrec, created versions of the scene. It was perhaps the genre's popularity that dissuaded from Cézanne from engaging with this motif, as this is one of the few toilette scenes he produced. Here, the artist sets his nude against rumpled drapery with pronounced facets.

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