Paul Cezanne set this idyllic view of a group of bathers in a frame of foliage. He rendered the ground, water, trees, and sky with patches of hatching that seem to register the energy he felt when painting. His primary concern, however, seems to have been striking a balance between the vigor of the bodies and the restfulness of the setting through individual poses and figure groupings\u2014some invented, some likely derived from his other works depicting this subject.<\/p>\n
Over the course of his career, Cezanne frequently revisited groups of bathers in nature. Through his multiple studies of the subject, he reconceived the classical motif of nudes outdoors in a modern style.<\/p>\n","short_description":"Paul Cezanne set this idyllic view of bathers in a frame of foliage. He rendered the ground, water, trees, and sky with patches of hatching, conveying the energy he felt when painting. His primary concern, however, seems to have been striking a balance between the vigor of the bodies and the restfulness of the setting through individual poses and figure groupings.","dimensions":"51.3 \u00d7 61.7 cm (20 3\/16 \u00d7 24 1\/4 in.); Framed: 69.3 \u00d7 79.7 \u00d7 8.3 cm (27 1\/4 \u00d7 31 3\/8 \u00d7 3 1\/4 in.)","dimensions_detail":[{"depth":null,"width":61,"height":51,"diameter":null,"clarification":null},{"depth":8,"width":79,"height":69,"diameter":null,"clarification":"Framed"}],"medium_display":"Oil on canvas","inscriptions":null,"credit_line":"Amy McCormick Memorial Collection","catalogue_display":"
Rewald 859<\/p>
Feilchenfeldt, Warman and Nash FWN 976<\/p>
Venturi 722<\/p>","publication_history":"Lionello Venturi, C\u00e9zanne, son art, son oeuvre (Paris, 1936), vol. 1, p. 192, no. 722, vol. 2, pl. 238. \n\nClarence Bulliet, Apples and Madonnas (New York, 1930), p. 49. \n\nThe Studio 106 (October 1933), p. 200.\n\nD. Odenheimer, \u201cMrs. Robert R. McCormick, Painter and Collector,\u201d The Art Institute Bulletin 34 (April-May, 1940), p. 60 (ill.).\n\n\u201cMcCormick Art Given to Chicago,\u201d Art Digest (December 15, 1942), p. 19.\n\nEdgar Allan Jewell, Paul C\u00e9zanne (New York ,1944) , p. 34 (ill.).\n\nLiliane Brion-Guerry, C\u00e9zanne et l\u2019expression de l\u2019espace (Paris, 1950), fig. 28.\n\nJames Speyer, \u201cTwentieth-Century European Painting and Sculpture,\u201d Apollo 84 (September 1966), p. 222.\n\nThe Art Institute of Chicago Quarterly no. 1 (February 1952), pp. 2-8.\n\nGertrude Berthold, Cezanne und die alten Meister (Stuttgart, 1958), p. 43, fig. 58.\n\nThe Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago: A Catalogue of the Picture Collection (Chicago, 1961), pp. 73, 326 (ill.).\n\nFritz Novotny, Paul Cezanne, 1839-1906 (London, 1961), p. 41.\n\nLiliane Brion-Guerry, C\u00e9zanne et l\u2019expression de l\u2019espace (Paris, 1966), p. 193.\n\nJohn Maxon, The Art Institute of Chicago (New York, 1970), pp. 105-104 (ill).\n\nKurt Badt, Das Sp\u00e4twerk C\u00e9zannes (Konstanz, 1971), p. 21 (ill.).\n\nS. Geist in Art International (November 20, 1975), p. 12 (ill.). \n\nTheodore Reff, \u201cC\u00e9zanne\u2019s Late Bather Paintings,\u201d Arts Magazine (October 1977), p. 118, fig. 9.\n\nR. Kendall, ed., C\u00e9zanne by Himself (London, 1988), p. 262 (ill.).\n\nK. Adler in Art in America (April 1990), p. 237 (ill.).\n\nMichael Howard, C\u00e9zanne (London, 1990), pp. 152-153 (ill.).\n\nMary Louise Krumrine, \u201cC\u00e9zanne\u2019s \u2018Restricted Power\u2019: Further Reflections on the \u2018Bathers\u2019,\u201d Burlington Magazine (September 1992), p. 592.\n\nJohn Rewald, The Paintings of Paul C\u00e9zanne: A Catalgoue Raisonn\u00e9 (New York, 1996), vol. 1, p. 512-13, no. 859, vol. 2, p. 301 (ill.).\n\nPhilip Conisbee and Denis Coutagne, C\u00e9zanne in Provance, exh. cat. (Washington: National Gallery of Art; Aix-en-Provence: Mus\u00e9e Granet; Paris: Reunion de mus\u00e9es nationaux, 2006), 239, 253 cat. 126, 323.\n\nThe Age of Impressionism at the Art Institute of Chicago (New Haven and London, 2008), cat. 68, pgs. 142, 143 (ill.).\n\nAchim Borchardt-Hume, Gloria Groom, Caitlin Haskell and Natalia Sidlina, eds., Cezanne, exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2022), 174 cat. 107.\n\nDenis Couragne, ed., Cezanne au Jas de Bouffan, exh. cat. (Paris: GrandPalaisRmn, 2025), 202 (ill.), 272 cat. 104.","exhibition_history":"New York, Paul Rosenberg & Co. at Wildenstein Galleries, Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Paul Cezanne, 1839\u20131906, Jan. 1928, cat. 8, as Les Baigneurs.\n\nRenaissance Society of the University of Chicago, Exhibition of Modern French Paintings, Jan. 22\u2013Feb. 2, 1929, no cat.\n\nNew York, Museum of Modern Art, Summer Exhibition: Retrospective, June\u2013Sept. 1930, cat. 15, as Bathers.\n\nArt Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, June 1\u2013Nov. 1, 1933, cat. 306, as c. 1890.\n\nArt Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, June 1\u2013Nov. 1, 1934, cat. 291, as c. 1890.\n\nArt Institute of Chicago, Paintings from the Collection of Mrs. Robert R. McCormick, Apr. 17\u2013June 2, 1940, no cat.\n\nArt Institute of Chicago, Masterpiece of the Month, December 1943, no cat.\n\nCincinnati Art Museum, Paintings by Paul C\u00e9zanne, Feb. 5\u2013Mar. 9, 1947, cat. 12 (ill.), as Bathers (Baigneuses), 1900\u201305.\n\nOberlin, OH, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Exhibition, May 10\u201330, 1950, no cat.\n\nArt Institute of Chicago, C\u00e9zanne: Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings; A Loan Exhibition, Feb. 7\u2013Mar. 16, 1952, cat. 98 (ill.), as Bathers, 1900\u201305; New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, C\u00e9zanne: Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings; A Loan Exhibition, Apr.\u2013May 18, 1952.\n\nEdinburgh, Royal Scottish Academy, An Exhibition of Paintings by C\u00e9zanne, Aug. 20\u2013Sept. 18, 1954, cat. 60 (ill.), as Baigneuses, c. 1900; London, Tate Gallery, Sept. 29\u2013Oct. 27, 1954.\n\nCleveland Museum of Art, Venetian Tradition, Nov. 1956\u2013Jan. 1957, no cat.\n\nSan Francisco Museum of Art, Man: Glory, Jest and Riddle; A Survey of the Human Form through the ages, Nov. 10, 1964\u2013Jan. 3, 1965, cat. 238 (ill.), as 1900\u201305.\n\nWashington, DC, Phillips Collection, C\u00e9zanne: An Exhibition to Honor the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Phillips Collection, Feb. 27\u2013Mar. 28, 1971, cat. 29 (ill.), as Bathers; Art Institute of Chicago, Apr. 17\u2013May 16, 1971; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, June 1\u2013July 30, 1971.\n\nNew York, Museum of Modern Art, C\u00e9zanne: The Late Work, Oct. 7, 1977\u2013Jan. 3, 1978, cat. 38, as Bathers (Baigneuses); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Jan. 25\u2013Mar. 21, 1977; Paris, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, as C\u00e9zanne: Les Derni\u00e8res Ann\u00e9es (1895\u20131906), Apr. 20\u2013July 23, 1978, cat. 100.\n\nLi\u00e8ge, Belgium, Mus\u00e9e Saint Georges, C\u00e9zanne, Mar. 12\u2013May 9, 1982, cat. 28 (ill.), as 1900\u201305; Aix\u2013en\u2013Provence, France, Mus\u00e9e Granet, June 12\u2013Aug. 31, 1982.\n\nTokyo, Seibu Museum of Art, The Impressionist Tradition: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago, Oct. 18\u2013Dec. 17, 1985, cat. 52 (ill.); Fukuoka, Japan, Fukuoka Art Museum, Jan. 5\u2013Feb. 2, 1986; Kyoto, Japan, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, Mar. 4\u2013Apr. 13, 1986.\n\nBasel, Kunstmuseum, Paul C\u00e9zanne: Die Badenden, Sept. 10\u2013Dec. 10, 1989, cat. 68, (ill.), as Baigneuses, 1900\u201304.\n\nParis, Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, C\u00e9zanne, Sept. 25, 1995\u2013Jan. 7, 1996, cat. 220 (ill); London, Tate Gallery, Feb. 8\u2013Apr. 28, 1996; Philadelphia Museum of Art, May 26\u2013Aug. 18, 1996.\n\nWashington, DC, National Gallery of Art, C\u00e9zanne in Provence, Jan. 29\u2013May 7, cat. 126, 2006, as Bathers; Aix\u2013en\u2013Provence, France, Mus\u00e9e Granet, June 9\u2013Sept. 7, 2006.\n\nFort Worth, TX, Kimbell Museum of Art, The Impressionists: Master Paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago, June 29\u2013Nov. 2, 2008, cat. 68 (ill.). \n\nBudapest, Sz\u00e9pm\u0171v\u00e9szeti M\u00fazeum, C\u00e9zanne and the Past: Tradition and Creativity, Oct. 25, 2012\u2013Feb. 17, 2013, cat. 145 (ill.), as Bathers.\n\nArt Institute of Chicago, Cezanne, May 15\u2013Sept. 5, 2022, cat. 107; London, Tate, Oct. 5, 2022\u2013Mar. 12, 2023.\n\nAix-en-Provence, France, Mus\u00e9e Granet, Cezanne au Jas de Bouffan, June 28\u2013Oct. 12, 2025, cat. 104 as Baigneuses et baigneurs (color ill.).","provenance_text":"Ambroise Vollard (1866\u20131939), Paris. Jacques Zoubaloff (1876\u20131941), Paris, between 1918\u20131922; his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, June16\u201317, 1927, lot 113 (ill.). Jos. Hessel, Paris [according to Rewald 1996]. Paul Rosenberg and Co., Paris and New York, 1928 [New York 1928]. Chester H. Johnson Gallery, Chicago [Chicago 1933]. Mrs. Robert R. McCormick (Amy Irwin McCormick; 1872\u20131939), Chicago, by 1929 [see Chicago 1929 exhibition materials, Archives of American Art, copy in curatorial file]; By descent to her husband, Colonel Robert R. McCormick (1880\u20131955), Chicago; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1942.","edition":null,"publishing_verification_level":"Web Cataloged","internal_department_id":14,"fiscal_year":1943,"fiscal_year_deaccession":null,"is_public_domain":true,"is_zoomable":true,"max_zoom_window_size":-1,"copyright_notice":null,"has_multimedia_resources":false,"has_educational_resources":false,"has_advanced_imaging":false,"colorfulness":0,"color":{"h":203,"l":46,"s":14,"percentage":0.002017402614499991,"population":2100},"latitude":null,"longitude":null,"latlon":null,"is_on_view":true,"on_loan_display":null,"gallery_title":"Gallery 248","gallery_id":2147479698,"nomisma_id":null,"artwork_type_title":"Painting","artwork_type_id":1,"department_title":"Painting and Sculpture of Europe","department_id":"PC-10","artist_id":40482,"artist_title":"Paul Cezanne","alt_artist_ids":[],"artist_ids":[40482],"artist_titles":["Paul Cezanne"],"category_ids":["PC-10"],"category_titles":["Painting and Sculpture of Europe"],"term_titles":["oil on canvas","oil painting","bathers","Post-Impressionism","oil paint (paint)","painting (image making)","painting techniques","painting","french","oil paintings (visual works)","paint","canvas","paint","painting","19th century","figures","trees","woman","painting","european painting","leisure","weather\/seasons","women","landscapes","Century of Progress","world's fairs","Chicago World's Fairs"],"style_id":"TM-7547","style_title":"Post-Impressionism","alt_style_ids":["TM-13203"],"style_ids":["TM-7547","TM-13203"],"style_titles":["Post-Impressionism","19th century"],"classification_id":"TM-66","classification_title":"oil on canvas","alt_classification_ids":["TM-14976","TM-78","TM-10387","TM-9","TM-54"],"classification_ids":["TM-66","TM-14976","TM-78","TM-10387","TM-9","TM-54"],"classification_titles":["oil on canvas","french","oil paintings (visual works)","paint","painting","european painting"],"subject_id":"TM-12589","alt_subject_ids":["TM-15161","TM-11205","TM-13813","TM-10094","TM-10095","TM-8735","TM-8657","TM-12169","TM-11299","TM-12176"],"subject_ids":["TM-12589","TM-15161","TM-11205","TM-13813","TM-10094","TM-10095","TM-8735","TM-8657","TM-12169","TM-11299","TM-12176"],"subject_titles":["bathers","figures","trees","woman","leisure","weather\/seasons","women","landscapes","Century of Progress","world's fairs","Chicago World's Fairs"],"material_id":"TM-2451","alt_material_ids":["TM-3124","TM-2577","TM-13502"],"material_ids":["TM-2451","TM-3124","TM-2577","TM-13502"],"material_titles":["oil paint (paint)","canvas","paint","painting"],"technique_id":"TM-4273","alt_technique_ids":["TM-3891","TM-3971","TM-14210"],"technique_ids":["TM-4273","TM-3891","TM-3971","TM-14210"],"technique_titles":["oil painting","painting (image making)","painting techniques","painting"],"theme_titles":[],"image_id":"2e166f7c-a959-d686-eeb0-a63a52a4d368","alt_image_ids":[],"document_ids":[],"sound_ids":[],"video_ids":[],"text_ids":[],"section_ids":[],"section_titles":[],"site_ids":[],"suggest_autocomplete_all":[{"input":["1942.457"],"contexts":{"groupings":["accession"]}},{"input":["The Bathers"],"weight":10697,"contexts":{"groupings":["title"]}}],"source_updated_at":"2025-12-18T14:35:50-06:00","updated_at":"2026-08-25T23:19:07-05:00","timestamp":"2026-09-06T05:47:41-05:00"},"info":{"license_text":"The `description` field in this response is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License (CC-By) and the Terms and Conditions of artic.edu. 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