Bathers in the Forest (Baigneuses dans la forêt)
c. 1897
Oil on canvas
74 × 100 cm (29.1 × 39.4 in)
SEE IT IN PERSON
● On view now — Collection Gallery, Room 13, East Wall
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia · verified July 2026
Discussion
FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG
In this fantasy scene, seven young women play and relax by a pool in the woods. Soft strokes of rainbow color define the painting's composition and move the eye around to delight in the inviting landscape and splash of cool water against the bathers' velvety flesh. The subject matter and bright tones partly emulate 18th-century paintings by François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Albert Barnes's acquisition of this important painting in 1932 stirred substantial excitement from the press.
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