The Large Bathers (Les Baigneurs)

The Large Bathers (Les Baigneurs) is a significant color lithograph created by Paul Cézanne between 1893 and 1903. This print, executed on wove paper, represents the rare first state of two and highlights Cézanne’s dedication to exploring form and volume through the nuanced process of lithography.

The subject of bathing figures was central to Cézanne’s output during his mature period, serving as a vehicle to rigorously study the relationship between the human figure and the surrounding environment. In this large composition, several male nudes are gathered along a riverbank. They are depicted with a powerful solidity, their forms treated less as classical figures and more as integral, structural components within the overall design.

Cézanne frames the figures using a characteristic backdrop of sturdy, curving trees that emphasize the depth of the scene. Beyond the central action, the viewer is drawn toward a broad landscape featuring distant mountains, fusing the study of human anatomy with that of pure scenery. The work displays the artist’s characteristic reduction of natural forms to their geometric essentials, a method that would profoundly influence the subsequent generations of modernist painters.

This exploration of structure through color and line, rather than traditional modeling, demonstrates the formal complexity Cézanne achieved in his final decade. As an important example of his prints, The Large Bathers bridges the artist’s iconic painting cycles with his graphic experiments. This specific impression is proudly held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.