Paul Cézanne
1839-1906
The Bathers. Verso: head of a boy and a male nude
ca. 1900
7 15/16 x 10 13/16 inches (201 x 274 mm)
Watercolor over graphite; verso: Graphite.
2017.29
Thaw Collection.
Notes
Watermark: none.
Cézanne's reverence for old masters led him to reinvent the genre of nude figures in a landscape, a theme he explored over the course of his career. This sheet is among the latest examples. Here seven bathers interact in a way--and in a space--that remains ambiguous: the drawing is both a bathing scene and a patterned surface of curvilinear strokes of watercolor. The subject may have also held a certain nostalgia for Cézanne, who linked swimming with time spent during his youth with his friends, including Émile Zola. -- Exhibition Label, from "Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the Thaw Collection"
Cézanne's reverence for old masters led him to reinvent the genre of nude figures in a landscape, a theme he explored over the course of his career. This sheet is among the latest examples. Here seven bathers interact in a way--and in a space--that remains ambiguous: the drawing is both a bathing scene and a patterned surface of curvilinear strokes of watercolor. The subject may have also held a certain nostalgia for Cézanne, who linked swimming with time spent during his youth with his friends, including Émile Zola. -- Exhibition Label, from "Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the Thaw Collection"
Inscriptions/Markings
Numbered, at left beneath large composition, in pencil, "2 1".
Associated names
Cézanne, Paul, 1872-1947, former owner.
Renou, Maurice, former owner.
Thaw, Eugene Victor, former owner.
Thaw, Clare, former owner.
Renou, Maurice, former owner.
Thaw, Eugene Victor, former owner.
Thaw, Clare, former owner.
Bibliography
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY, "Drawn to Greatness: Master Drawings from the Thaw Collection", 2017. Exh. cat., no. 44, repr.
Denison, Cara D. et al. The Thaw Collection : Master Drawings and New Acquisitions. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1994, no. 83.
New York Collects: Drawings and Watercolors, 1900-1950. New York: The Pierpont Morgan Library, 1999, cat. no. 1.
Denison, Cara D. et al. The Thaw Collection : Master Drawings and New Acquisitions. New York : Pierpont Morgan Library, 1994, no. 83.
New York Collects: Drawings and Watercolors, 1900-1950. New York: The Pierpont Morgan Library, 1999, cat. no. 1.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
School
Catalog link
Department