Artist: Paul Cezanne

Style: Post-Impressionism

Topic: Baths

Date: 1900

Museum: National Gallery (London, United Kingdom)

Paul Cézanne was influenced by a number of things when creating The Large Bathers. Firstly the artist had spent his early years in Paris at the Louvre museum, copying the paintings of the great masters. In the halls of one of the largest art museums in the world he saw the fantastic mystical paintings by artists such as Botticelli, Titian and Rubens. The God's, cherubs and mystical creatures of the Renaissance all inspired him to create scenes such as this one. The calm waters in The Large Bathers and the slow movement of the figures all lend a mythical element to the work. The nature and the small town in the background of the image were inspired by Aix-en-Provence. Paul Cézanne had grown up in this small town and even after moving to Paris he was attached to the countryside and his childhood surroundings. He spent many years traveling between the city and the countryside and Aix-en-Provence appeared in many of his works.