Bathers
- Artist
- Paul Cezanne, French, 1839–1906
- Date
- 1890–92
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- depicts
- Provence region, Western Europe, France, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 246
- Dimensions
- 21 3/8 x 26 in. (54.3 x 66 cm)
framed: 30 5/8 x 34 15/16 x 4 1/4 in. (77.8 x 88.7 x 10.8 cm) - Credit Line
- Funds given by Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 2:1956
NOTES
A group of male bathers relaxes alongside a riverbank: all are nude with the exception of a single figure to the right who wears trunks. The scene was inspired by the artist’s memories of bathing as a young man in Provence in the south of France. In the distance is the peak of Mont Sainte-Victoire. Cézanne employs his method of repetitive faceted brushmarks, as in the pine tree to the left, and complementary color contrasts, as in the blue river alongside the orange riverbank.
Provenance
- 1906
Ambroise Vollard (1867-1939), Paris, France
1906 - 1926
Claude Monet (1840-1926), Giverny, France [1]
1926 -
Michel Monet (1877-1966), Giverny, France, by inheritance
Paul Rosenberg Gallery, Paris, France [2]
by 1936 - 1955
Mrs. Edith Chester Beatty, London, England, acquired from Paul Rosenberg
1955/03/16 - 1955
Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY, USA, purchased from Mrs. Edith Chester Beatty [3]
1955/11/12 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Paul Rosenberg & Co. [4]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the catalogue raisonné, cat. no. 666 [Rewald, John. "The Paintings of Paul Cézanne: A Catalogue Raisonné." New York : H.N. Abrams, 1996]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Monet purchased the painting from Ambroise Vollard, who sent it to Monet on March 29, 1906 [Rabinow, Rebecca A., ed. "Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde." New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006, p. 281, 341]. Monet went on to buy other paintings by Cézanne from Vollard.
[2] This painting appears in Venturi's 1936 catalogue raisonné, published by Paul Rosenberg. Mrs. Edith Chester Beatty is listed as the current owner, with Rosenberg as a previous owner. "Bathers" was in the exhibition "Exposition Cézanne (1839-1906), organisée a l'occasion de son centenaire" at Paul Rosenberg, Paris in March 1939 and at Rosenberg-Helft Ltd., London the same year. Both shows noted the provenance path from Rosenberg to Mrs. Beatty ["Exhibition Cézanne (1839-1906)." Paris: Paul Rosenberg, 1939; "Exhibition Cézanne (1839-1906): To Celebrate His Centenary." London: Rosenberg & Helft, 1939].
[3] This transaction is noted in the records of Paul Rosenberg & Co. [notes of Rosenberg records, SLAM document files].
[4] This transaction is documented by a bill of sale dated November 12, 1955, inventory number 5601 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, January 5, 1956.
Ambroise Vollard (1867-1939), Paris, France
1906 - 1926
Claude Monet (1840-1926), Giverny, France [1]
1926 -
Michel Monet (1877-1966), Giverny, France, by inheritance
Paul Rosenberg Gallery, Paris, France [2]
by 1936 - 1955
Mrs. Edith Chester Beatty, London, England, acquired from Paul Rosenberg
1955/03/16 - 1955
Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York, NY, USA, purchased from Mrs. Edith Chester Beatty [3]
1955/11/12 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Paul Rosenberg & Co. [4]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is the catalogue raisonné, cat. no. 666 [Rewald, John. "The Paintings of Paul Cézanne: A Catalogue Raisonné." New York : H.N. Abrams, 1996]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] Monet purchased the painting from Ambroise Vollard, who sent it to Monet on March 29, 1906 [Rabinow, Rebecca A., ed. "Cézanne to Picasso: Ambroise Vollard, Patron of the Avant-Garde." New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2006, p. 281, 341]. Monet went on to buy other paintings by Cézanne from Vollard.
[2] This painting appears in Venturi's 1936 catalogue raisonné, published by Paul Rosenberg. Mrs. Edith Chester Beatty is listed as the current owner, with Rosenberg as a previous owner. "Bathers" was in the exhibition "Exposition Cézanne (1839-1906), organisée a l'occasion de son centenaire" at Paul Rosenberg, Paris in March 1939 and at Rosenberg-Helft Ltd., London the same year. Both shows noted the provenance path from Rosenberg to Mrs. Beatty ["Exhibition Cézanne (1839-1906)." Paris: Paul Rosenberg, 1939; "Exhibition Cézanne (1839-1906): To Celebrate His Centenary." London: Rosenberg & Helft, 1939].
[3] This transaction is noted in the records of Paul Rosenberg & Co. [notes of Rosenberg records, SLAM document files].
[4] This transaction is documented by a bill of sale dated November 12, 1955, inventory number 5601 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, January 5, 1956.