Paul Cézanne

Ambroise Vollard, Paris
Bernheim-Jeune, Paris
Paul Signac, Paris
Mme Cachin-Signac, Paris (by descent from the above)
Wildenstein Galleries, New York
Galerie de L'Elysée (Alex Maguy), Paris 
Pedro Vallenilla Echeverris, Caracas
Ernst Beyeler, Basel
Fischer Fine Art, Ltd., London 
Formes Gallery, Osaka
Tsutomu Sugiura, Saitama (on consignment)
T. Adachi, Zushi City, Japan
Private Collection (acquired from the above and sold: Sotheby's, New York, November 5, 2008, lot 151)
Acquired at the above sale

Caracas, Fondation E. Mendoza, Cent années de peinture moderne 1840-1940, 1957, no. 16, illustrated in the catalogue
Caracas, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Oeuvres de la Collection Pedro Vallenilla Echeverris, 1959, no. 6
Paris, Galerie de L'Élysée, 1963
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Autour de l'impressionnisme, 1966, no. 3, illustrated in the catalogue
Basel, Galerie Beyeler, Petits formats, 1967-68, no. 18, illustrated in the catalogue

Lionello Venturi, Cézanne, Son art-son oeuvre, vol. I, Paris, 1936, no. 261, catalogued p. 123; vol. II, no. 261, illustrated pl. 69 (dated circa 1875-77)
Gaston Diehl, L'Art moderne français à Caracas, n.d., no. 1, p. 16
René Huyghe, Impressionism, New York, 1971, illustrated p. 12
John Rewald, The Paintings of Paul Cézanne. A Catalogue Raisonné, vol. I, New York, 1996, no. 262, catalogued p. 180; vol. II, no. 262, illustrated p. 85
Walter Feilchenfeldt, Jayne Warman & David Nash, The Paintings of Paul Cézanne, an online catalogue raisonné, www.cezannecatalogue.com, no. 929 (accessed August 31, 2015)

This work is in very good condition. The surface is clean and richly-textured. The canvas has an old lining and the edges are taped. A few artist's pinholes in each of the corners and along an old tacking edge, not visible when framed. Under UV light: a handful of pinhead sized dots of inpainting in upper right corner fluoresce. Some other areas fluoresce but appear to be original pigments. Otherwise fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The bathing figure, male or female, served as a primary motif in Cézanne's oeuvre, rendered and explored in many of his most critical studies and compositions, ultimately elevating the subject to that of archetype, representing and precipitating many of the most profound transformations in the early years of modern art history. Cézanne's rapid artistic development is brilliantly displayed through the discourse of his explorations on the subject and indeed Baigneur debout reveals the boldly modern and revolutionary approach that immortalized him. Mary Louise Krumrine discusses his initial approach to the subject, "The first expression of Cézanne's preoccupation with the theme of bathing—three young swimmers under an enormous tree—was penned on the back of a letter to Zola dated June 20, 1859. Many years later, in L'Oeuvre, Zola recalled that 'in their unreasoning worship of trees and hills and streams, and in the boundless joy of being alone and free, they found an escape from the matter-of-fact world and instinctively let themselves be drawn to the bosom of Nature'" (Mary Louise Krumrine,  Paul Cézanne, The Bathers, New York, 1989, p. 105).

The present oil is indeed a radical tour de force, exemplifying the unprecedented nature of Cézanne's virtuosic output of the period, underscoring a keen focus on direct observation from nature whilst audaciously rejecting academic notions of perspective, light and shadow. The result is an entirely new understanding of art, of technique and aesthetic, one which more than merits the author's revered position as the father of modern art. It is of particular interest than this painting, Baigneur debout, was previously in the collection of French Neo-Impressionist Paul Signac. Signac, a revolutionary painter himself, was the president of the Société des Artistes Indépendants from 1908 until his death, thus shaping the trajectory of modern art history in his own right, providing particular support to the Fauves (being the first major collector to acquire a work by Matisse) and the Cubists and meanwhile amassing one of the most important collections of early modern art at the start of the twentieth century.