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On comparing Ce`zanne's Bathers, to (Plate 1.3.4) with Correggio's Leda with the swan, (Plate 1.3.8) I am immediately drawn to the contrast between the two works of art. The delineation and modelling. Ce`zanne Bathers are childlike, dirty and grotesque, with no real sense of purpose, this seems to be a resounding theme in his works, they could be in hell as oppose to on earth, note the tree in the shape of a cross acting as a protectorate perhaps, some of the figures are almost Neanderthal in appearance. In contrast, Correggio's Leda with the swan, is more pleasing to my eye, classically traditional, smoother, enticing and majestic, with lots of expression drawing you into the scene. The female shapes are proportionate and clearly Correggio in his painting, very much the picture plane draws the eye. Unlike Ce`zanne, who in this painting seems to want you to concentrate on the picture space (possibly the point) as there appears to be no single point perspective. Correggio's, shading and colour gives a perspective of warmth with a smooth graduated surface with the light falling from right to left using a wider deeper tonal range. On the other hand Ce`zanne's, lighting seems to be falling from the top slightly left of centre, whilst normally Ce`zanne, uses a narrow range of colours, on this work he has used a wider range of colours, with yellow's and orange, and on this occasion, blue seems to be preferable for shading although normally he seems to prefer black.
The defining thing about Ce`zanne's, work are his brush strokes, which are harsh short strokes opposed to soft and therefore when viewed can almost give the appearance of block mosaic in aappearance. Correggio, has worked for a smoother graduated surface blending one touch into another using a wide range of colours, his Leda with the Swan, represents a gentle approach or a gentleness of clarity. Correggio's work represents peacefulness, grace, seduction, angelic rejection and joy. In contrast, Ce`zanne's,...