Cézanne and Male Nude

Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) painted lots of male “Bathers” (in French “Baigneurs”). As a child he used to bathe in the rivers of his beloved Provence with his companions and namely Emile Zola. He began on this theme in 1890 and continued his life long. The boys and men he presented mostly are an integral part of the landscape and form an architecture. The power of bodies create the structural space in a mineral work. The soft clouds only remind that Cézanne is a convinced Impressionist. The modulation of colors tends to express the volumes in a lesson of freshness and warm atmosphere of his native Provence. The spontaneous and natural attitude, the freedom in the gestures may refer to Italian Renaissance which seems to have been sought here whilst the monumental structures calls up Poussin. Although the influences in his works are often misunderstood and still a subject of controversy, Cézanne main concern was “to find volumes”, as he told Emile Zola. In fact, he simplified geometry and abundantly used optical phenomena and finally appealed to imagination. Pissaro helped him find much brighter colors. He also painted with Renoir and Manet in his L’Estaque residence in the South of France, near Marseilles.

Cézanne is said to have inspired Picasso and other modern artists.

Cézanne: “Bathers” 1892-94.

Cézanne: “Bather” 1885-87.

Cézanne: “Bathers at rest” 1877.

Cézanne: “Bather” 1877-78.

Cézanne: “Bathers” 1885-87.