RIVER BATHERS

DeNiro, Robert Sr. (1922-1993)

Oil on Canvas

1956

Poindexter Collection

X1967.04.05

Three unclad woman are arranged in repose on the banks of a river. Most of the painting is a charcoal grey color with spots of color made even more brilliant by the harsh contrast. A few brushstrokes of pure blue are found along the top edge, an efficient means of depicting the water's edge. Two of the woman are found in the foreground, both sitting and facing each other. The woman to the left is in profile, a passage of peach colored white is pushed across her belly and breasts, along her calves down to her ankles, while the rest of the figure is scumbled greys. Color is not bounded by the dark contours of the figures; orange is part of the background and also flesh. The figure to the right is colored throughout the torso with a light purple/ lavender, but remains faceless as she gazes toward the viewer. The third figure recedes into the background and stands closer to the water. The green of her body is the same as the underbrush that surrounds her, legs becoming obscured in the thicket.