The Bathers (in French: Les Grandes Baigneuses), is an oil painting by French artist Paul Cézanne, painted at the dawn of the 20th century. The largest of a series of "Bather" paintings by Cézanne and occasionally referred to as “Big Bathers” or “Large Bathers”, it is considered one of the masterpieces of modern art, and Cézanne's finest work.
With Bathers, Cézanne continuously moved away from the traditional presentation of paintings, an intentional move designed to make the work have less appeal to the novice viewer. This was done in order to avoid fleeting fads and give a timeless quality to his work. It also contributed to help pave the way for future artists to disregard current trends and paint pieces which would appeal equally to all generations.
The painting was purchased in 1937 for $110,000 with funds from a trust fund for the Philadelphia Museum of Art by their major benefactor Joseph E. Widener. It is still on display at this museum today. The painting was also featured in the BBC2 series “100 Great Paintings”.
This product was added to our catalog on Saturday 26 December, 2009.
