The Large Bathers (Les Baigneurs) 1893 - 1903

Paul Cézanne made this color lithograph, *The Large Bathers*, using a painstaking process to build up the image. Lithography involves drawing on a flat stone or metal plate with a greasy crayon, then treating the surface so that ink adheres only to the drawn areas. It’s a printmaking technique that lies somewhere between drawing and painting, allowing for unique tonal variations, which we can observe across the surface of this print, particularly in the sky and foliage. Cézanne built up the image through multiple layers of color, each requiring a separate plate. The overlaid colors create depth and solidity, almost as if the figures were sculpted. The nude bathers were a recurring theme for Cézanne, and prints like this allowed him to explore it in a more democratic, reproducible medium. This print demonstrates how the inherent qualities of the lithographic process – its capacity for layering, its subtle gradations, and its potential for mass production – can influence the appearance and significance of an artwork, pushing the boundaries between fine art and printmaking.