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Lot Essay
Much of the expressive quality in Czanne's depiction of bathers derives from a deliberately exaggerated and heroic conception of the human figure. This is partly the result of observation, but in greater part it stems from his study and interpretation of the figure as drawn by earlier artists. This is the case in the present watercolor; while the bather has a more natural and casual aspect than other figures in his bathers series, the pose is in fact based on the figure in the Dead Christ by Alonso Cano (1601-1667), a wood engraving of which Czanne saw in Charles Blanc, Ecole Espagnole, Paris, 1869.
Czanne has nevertheless completely transformed the context of Cano's subject and pose, and in this process, infuses his bather with a classical and monumental dimension. Czanne's frequent reference to this pose attests to the significance and usefulness he attached to it. This pose appears in Baigneurs en plein air, 1888-1890 (Venturi no. 582), and in reversed direction or altered form in other paintings as well (Venturi nos. 541, 580, 581 and 588-591), and in related watercolors (Rewald nos. 125, 133, 495 and 607).
The drawing on the verso represents an alternate conception of a pose that Czanne also frequently used in his bather compositions, that of a male figure with his arms raised around his head. In a watercolor painted circa 1880 (Rewald no. 119) Czanne modifies his pose by beginning to turn the figure to one side. In other versions of this period the artist achieves the final transformation of his pose, with torso and legs seen from the side. Czanne painted a watercolor using the present pose as late as 1890 (Rewald no. 131). Together these poses contributed to a "repertory" from which Czanne would select figures for his bather pictures which form an evolving series, as variations on a theme.
Czanne has nevertheless completely transformed the context of Cano's subject and pose, and in this process, infuses his bather with a classical and monumental dimension. Czanne's frequent reference to this pose attests to the significance and usefulness he attached to it. This pose appears in Baigneurs en plein air, 1888-1890 (Venturi no. 582), and in reversed direction or altered form in other paintings as well (Venturi nos. 541, 580, 581 and 588-591), and in related watercolors (Rewald nos. 125, 133, 495 and 607).
The drawing on the verso represents an alternate conception of a pose that Czanne also frequently used in his bather compositions, that of a male figure with his arms raised around his head. In a watercolor painted circa 1880 (Rewald no. 119) Czanne modifies his pose by beginning to turn the figure to one side. In other versions of this period the artist achieves the final transformation of his pose, with torso and legs seen from the side. Czanne painted a watercolor using the present pose as late as 1890 (Rewald no. 131). Together these poses contributed to a "repertory" from which Czanne would select figures for his bather pictures which form an evolving series, as variations on a theme.