Bouguereau was well-known for painting figures inspired by the study of Raphael and other Renaissance masters, but he also acquired a great deal of knowledge examining the sculptures of classical Antiquity.  The time he spent in Rome, studying Greco-Roman masterpieces, was of paramount importance to Bouguereau's early development as well as to his later artistic practice.  The Bather,a mature Bouguereau work, embodies the classical spirit which informed the best paintings of his oeuvre.    
 
The Bather's clearest link to Bouguereau's time in Rome is revealed in the woman's classic pose.  Many works from Antiquity-particularly the Spinario (a masterpiece in the Palazzo Dei Conservatori, Rome) feature seated youths removing thorns from their feet.  Classical sculptures of Venus also feature the goddess in this oft-repeated position, daintily plucking a rose thorn from her foot.  Bouguereau was undoubtedly familiar with these works and recognized the endless possibilities of painting nude motifs including nymphs, Venuses, allegories and, of course, bathers. In 1879, Bouguereau painted The Bather, one of his earlier paintings to feature a bathing nude. His success with the subject prompted Bouguereau's further exploration of the subject with 1884 works including Seated Nude as well as The Bathers. Bouguereau explained his muse in an 1885 lecture at the Institut de France, stating "Antiquity reveals what an inexhaustible source of variegated inspiration nature is. With a relatively restricted number of elements - a head, a bust, arms, a torso, legs, a stomach - how many masterpieces she has made! Then, why seek out other things to paint or sculpture?"
 

In the present piece, Bouguereau's inclusion of minimal surroundings creates a timeless setting and highlights the focus of the composition: the beauty of the female form. With scenic economy and stylistic grace, he translates his anonymous bather into a contemporary female Spinario or Venus. Unlike artists such as Ingres or Courbet, whose nudes retained at least hints of exoticism, Bouguereau chose to preserve an idyllic Greek or Roman "matter-of-factness" with his nudes. This particular painting is an excellent example of Bouguereau's natural nude - uncloistered, pure and chaste. This bather's demure, averted gaze contributes an innocence and classical restraint to the subject.

The Bather illustrates Bouguereau's keen eye for composition and color.  Warm flesh tones juxtapose the cool blues of the background, setting off the bather's sculptural stance.  The polished surface of the painting, with indiscernible brushstrokes, demonstrates the artist's vast technical ability.  Whether painting a folded sheet, soft skin, silky hair, or solid chunks of stone, Bouguereau's exacting brushwork grants the canvas a seamless finish.  This exquisite technique easily validates Bougeureau's position as the foremost academic painter of the 19th century.  
  
The winning qualities of this work have not gone unnoticed in the curatorial world -The Bather was most notably included in the landmark Bouguereau retrospective mounted in 1974 at The New York Cultural Center.  Indeed, the painting was given center stage alongside Bouguereau's most famed and prized works, including, for example, La Charite (which recently sold for over three  million dollars).  The Bather's obvious appeal and important role in Bouguereau's oeuvre as well as its alignment with the artist's other masterworks clearly secure this painting's role in art history.    

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