Paul Cézanne: The Large Bathers (Les Grandes baigneuses), Paul Cézanne, 1895–1906, Oil on canvas, Note: This work has been temporarily removed from display for technical study and conservation treatment. Funding for its conservation was generously provided through a grant from the Bank of America Art Conservation Project. This is one of three monumental bathing scenes that Cézanne produced at the very end of his career. Thick with paint, the canvas seems to have occupied him, on and off, for about ten years, between 1895 and 1906. The theme of bathers in a landscape originated in the Renaissance and traditionally showed idealized female bodies in total harmony with nature. Here, Cézanne disturbs this easy relationship. Space is hard to read, and the landscape—note the dead tree branches and ominous clouds—seems harsh and threatening. As for the figures, many of the poses are derived from classical statuary, but Cézanne overturns tradition as soon as he references it: bodies are deliberately distorted, with obliterated faces, truncated limbs and uneven flesh. Look especially at the standing figure at left. She once had a head, but Cézanne painted it out., Overall: 52 1/8 x 86 1/4 in. (132.4 x 219.1 cm)
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