(Left) Cézanne, Paul. Large Bathers. 1906. National Gallery, London.
(Right) Cézanne, Paul. Five Bathers. 1887. Offentliche Kunstammlung Basel, Kunstmuseum.
Many of Cézanne’s paintings throughout his career depict both bathers and nymphs, yet the message behind them is dark and negative, stemming from his own personal and emotional complexes dealing with women and sexuality. These insecurities about women most likely began when he was twenty and fell in love with a young woman named Justine. Not only did she turn out to be in love with one of his friends but she barely even acknowledged that he even existed (Harris 13). Many of the emotional problems dealing with women that he developed as an adult are seen in his art that portrays both men and women, and women by themselves. His bather and nymph paintings are often categorized into groups by theme, with each revealing something different about Cézanne’s psyche. Cézanne’s earliest paintings of nymphs and bathers frequently show both males and females, often as nymphs and satyrs, in the same scene. These depict extreme tensions
and violence. He shows females as the victims of sexual violence and rape, yet sometimes depicts them as the villain, using their seductive powers for ill-will. These reflect his fear of contact and relationships with the opposite sex. Later works depict no violence but show women in a maliciously seductive manner, showing that Cézanne views women as temptresses and revealing his lack of trust in them (Krumrine 23-24). Later bather paintings, from the time period that includes Three Bathers, depict women without any men present. In these, he has detached himself from women and their sexuality on a conscious level, despite the fact that his frightened unconscious still creeps in to many paintings. Making men merely observers to these scenes, Cézanne thereby places himself outside the realm of their power over him (Krumrine et al. 83). This power struggle is further depicted by the rigid composition and structure that he creates in many of the bather paintings. This strict composition is repeated numerous times and allows Cézanne full control over the women in the paintings, something he felt incapable of in real life (Krumrine et al 137). Furthermore, the act of bathing not only represents the Christian of baptism but the need for cleansing. 
Cézanne shows women in an effort to cleanse themselves as an effort to purify them of their malicious actions and evil natures (Krumrine et al 105). These bather paintings are intriguing and provide much room for further investigation. For more information on Cézanne’s art please refer to:
Cézanne & Virgil
Cézanne & Violence
Cézanne's Watercolors
(Above) Cézanne, Paul. The Fight of Love. 1880. The National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
(Right) Cézanne, Paul. The Temptation of St. Anthony. 1875. Musée d'Orsay, Paris.