"One of my favourite paintings in the National Gallery's collection technically breaks the rules: Paul Cezanne's Bathers (Les Grandes Baigneuses) was painted in the last decade of his life, its date given as about 1894-1905. It was probably finished after the gallery's cut-off date of 1900, a cut-off the gallery has just announced it will be jettisoning. To say that I am pleased is an understatement."
"Just look at the Baigneuses and what they represent: the leap towards abstraction in the representation of the human form; the composition and its unidentifiable, but unified landscape; the use of colour, and the lack of discernible religious or mythological subject matter. The painting and its two sisters cast a significant influence on the onward march of 20th-century painting, particularly cubism, as they made a strong impression on both Matisse and Picasso."
"Reports that the National, in dropping the cut-off date and building a large new wing devoted to 20th-century painting, risks bad blood with the Tate are depressing. Before an agreement about the date was reached, the galleries had historically been at each other's throats. How unedifying it would be to see these two institutions at war again over the acquisition of, say, a Rothko."
The National Gallery is abandoning its long-standing 1900 acquisition cut-off and plans a new wing for 20th-century painting. Cezanne's Bathers, dated about 1894–1905 and likely finished after 1900, exemplifies the transitional leap toward abstraction, unified landscape composition, bold use of colour, and absence of religious or mythological subject matter. Those works influenced Matisse, Picasso and the emergence of Cubism. Halting displays at 1900 obscured how revolutionary developments unfolded. Concerns about competition with the Tate over major acquisitions like Rothko have arisen, but both galleries have formed a joint working group to collaborate on national-collection priorities.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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