T his work belongs to a series of four paintings of the same subject, which together elucidate Cézanne’s highly intentional and innovative approach to composition. It was through his measured execution of this particular series that the artist became fixated on the subject of bathers, a fascination that culminated in one of the final and most important works of Cézanne’s lifetime: the masterpiece of modern art, Les Grandes Baigneuses.

Baigneur aux bras écartés is an excellent example of Cézanne's work from a critical period that straddled Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. It possesses the artist’s characteristic open, airy quality, as well as his signature staccato brushstrokes and rich palette of ochre, green and blue. It is serenely beautiful yet intellectually challenging.

As a preeminent precursor to cubism, Cézanne took a unique approach to the rendering of volume and light, particularly in his analytical approach to nature and the human body. Although at first glance this work appears loose and impressionistic, it is in fact structured and systematic. Every inch of sky, ground and skin was deliberately conceived and executed by Cézanne. His methodical, parallel brush strokes created a surface wherein he could convey volume and light through just the color of his paint and pressure of his touch. The effect is harmonious and poetic, defying the conventional hierarchy of figure over background and highlighting the whole composition over any one constituent part.

As is typical of Cézanne's artistic output from this period, Baigneur aux bras écartés is lacking in naturalistic detail. Cézanne did not work from live models nor did he attempt to imitate real life; instead, his aim was to create a sensory experience that challenged traditional modes of representation. Layered strokes of dark green and vivid blue communicate the density of the tree and depth of the ocean, while a kaleidoscope of beige, ochre, gray and blue suggests the effect of sunlight hitting ground and skin. The composition evokes wonder but also inspires curiosity—as to the application of paint, the position of the bather and everything in between.

The peculiar position of this bather was borrowed from an ancient Roman sculpture, whose material density translates directly to the sturdiness and solidity of its two-dimensional counterpart (see fig. 1). Cézanne also drew inspiration from the art historical tradition of nudes in landscapes, which dates back to Titian in the 16th century and which was modernized by Manet in the 1860s (see figs. 2 and 3). By doing away with the subject matter of the past and simplifying his composition to foreground the surface of the canvas, Cézanne forged a new path forward and laid the immediate groundwork for masterpieces of modern art such as Matisse’s Le Bonheur de vivre (1905-06) and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907).