Two Bathers 1884 - 1887

Editor: So, here we have Paul Cézanne’s "Two Bathers," created sometime between 1884 and 1887. It's a pencil drawing on what looks like a page torn from a sketchbook. It feels quite immediate and raw to me. What stands out to you? Curator: Well, looking at this drawing, I'm drawn to think about the artist's hand and labor. It’s evident in the raw, repetitive strokes, that Cézanne was working through something here. This piece highlights the labor of the artist. How do we understand that in the context of late 19th-century artistic production, when notions of "high art" were being challenged by mass production and burgeoning consumerism? Editor: That’s fascinating. It makes me think about how artists like Cézanne were grappling with the changing status of art, moving away from academic painting, but also towards something that values the physical act of making. Curator: Exactly. And it is not just about him going *en plein air.* But that very act of rendering these figures becomes its subject. It's not only about recording an image; the visible labor and process, that material trace, become important. Editor: So, the medium, the simple pencil, becomes more than just a tool. It shows the physical act and becomes the true substance. Curator: Precisely! And the fact it's on a page ripped from a sketchbook diminishes its presence as art in the traditional, high art sense, right? So, that shifts it into a space where the act, the materiality, is central to our interpretation. Editor: It’s like he’s inviting us to consider art as something built, rather than magically appearing. Thank you; that shifted my understanding quite a bit. Curator: My pleasure, seeing that changes the art piece makes it all worthwhile.