Bathers

This work is linked to his stay in Vallensana (Badalona) during the summer of 1935, when the artist was immersed in reading and translating Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks, working in an atmosphere of calm and introspection. It depicts a series of women, most of them naked, some clothed, sunbathing in a forest, presumably on the bank of a river or lake. The figures appear reduced to essential forms and diffused contours, in a harmonious dialogue with nature. This formal and chromatic synthesis reveals the echo of several modern influences: Cézanne's integration of figure and landscape, Matisse's chromatic sensuality, and the intimate lyricism of the Nabis. The fragmented and slightly granular treatment of color reinforces this interpretation of a soft, Mediterranean modernity. The use of the pseudonym Kasian suggests that we are looking at an experimental work, where Verdaguer created a parallel creative space in which he could more freely explore less conventional aesthetics within his body of work. This allows us to understand The Bathers as a playful work, an intimate, lyrical, and sensory piece, where Verdaguer explores a more spontaneous style of painting linked to the mood of that summer: a scene that transcends naturalism to become a poetic evocation of repose, light, and communion with nature.