Small Bathers

The influential Post-Impressionist master Paul Cézanne (French, 1839-1906) created Small Bathers, a seminal work realized as a color lithograph in 1896-1897. This complex print, executed on delicate ivory China paper, was skillfully produced through the collaborative efforts of master printer Auguste Clot (French, 1858-1936). While Cézanne is most recognized for his monumental canvases, his relatively small output of prints demonstrates his continuous commitment to exploring complex compositional structures and color theory across varied media.

The recurring theme of bathers was central to Cézanne’s modernist project, allowing him to merge the traditional academic study of the nude with his system of geometric simplification. Unlike earlier plein air studies, the figures in this work are abstracted and arranged within a dynamic, interlocking framework of form and landscape. The composition reflects the artistic transition occurring in France at the turn of the century, where Cézanne’s spatial innovations laid the foundation for subsequent movements like Cubism.

The decision to use color lithography, requiring multiple stones to achieve layered tones, allowed the artist and Clot to explore subtle variations in hue and depth, departing from the typical starkness of black and white prints. This particular example of French prints stands as an important document of the collaboration between the painter and the specialized print shop, revealing how Cézanne approached printmaking as an independent, evolving art form rather than simply a means of reproduction. Today, this key piece of art history, which is occasionally digitized and made available through public domain initiatives, resides in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.