Tma 001 Cezzane

Compare and contrast Cézanne's Bathers (Plate 1.3.4) with Correggio's Leda with the Swan (Plate 1.3.8).

At a first glance there are some clear compositional differences between Cézanne's Bathers (Plate 1.3.8) and Correggio's Leda with the Swan (Plate 1.3.8). However there are some similarities between the two.

Firstly, both paintings are interpretations of the long tradition of painting females naked in landscape. The postures and colours used in both suggest a scene of tranquillity. Both paintings also use aerial perspective effectively, fading light blues with dark to create an illusion of   depth. Although Correggio relies more heavily on scale, direction of light and shading coupled with multiple point perspective to model his work.

However this is where the similarities between the two paintings seem to end. Although both painters use oil as their medium, the application of the oil drastically changes the effect both paintings have. Cézanne has used painterly brushwork which expresses rather than defines the objects in the picture space. Correggio has opted for a more linear style in his brushwork, creating a smooth and clear image. This variation in the two styles creates a striking difference. Correggio's style is more clear and defined but leaves very little to the imagination. In comparison bathers is much more twisted and distorted. Cézanne's impasto style implies rather than states the scene in the picture space.


The use of colours in both paintings also contrast. Bathers is typical of Cézanne's technique. He uses a   limited range of colours giving the painting a narrow tonal range. The only sharp contrast is in the pale and tanned figures of the women and the deep blue and turquoise of the scenery behind them.   Correggio has used a greater contrast in dark and light colours to create a more striking effect. The female figures in Leda with the Swan are illuminated as bright creams and pinks juxtaposing with the dark earthy background. This large...