Lot Essay
Cézanne's early works executed in the decade after his first arrival in Paris have proved difficult to date with accuracy. However, the close relation of the figure group in the present work to that of the nymphs in L'Enlèvement (Rewald 121; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge), a work dated 1867 by the artist, would seem to justify Lawrence Gowing's similar dating for this picture in his Cézanne - The Early Years exhibition.
Femmmes s'habillant was first owned by Camille Pissarro, who had known Cézanne from his time at the independent Académie Suisse in the 1860s. Pissarro was among the very first collectors of Cézanne's work - the present work may indeed have been a gift from the artist -and Femmes s'habillant remained in his collection until his death. It was included as lot 74 in Pissarro's posthumous sale in 1928 (see fig. 1). Four preparatory drawings for the figures in Femmes
s'habillant are also extant, and all were originally in Pissarro's collection (Chappuis 201-204).
Femmmes s'habillant was first owned by Camille Pissarro, who had known Cézanne from his time at the independent Académie Suisse in the 1860s. Pissarro was among the very first collectors of Cézanne's work - the present work may indeed have been a gift from the artist -and Femmes s'habillant remained in his collection until his death. It was included as lot 74 in Pissarro's posthumous sale in 1928 (see fig. 1). Four preparatory drawings for the figures in Femmes
s'habillant are also extant, and all were originally in Pissarro's collection (Chappuis 201-204).