In the 20th century, those visiting the south of France claimed nude bathing was traditional, while the rest of Europe and the USA were still developing bathing costumes.
coast
Our ancestors went to the beach and swam there for health. They soon wrapped themselves up in clothing, though, and only in late 19th century dared to dress for the beach.
In the early years of the 20th century, Sorolla started painting well-dressed young ladies strolling along the beaches of his native València.
Paintings by Paul Signac, Maximilien Luce, and Pierre Bonnard showing fishing boats, trees and bathers near this smalll fishing village on the Mediterranean coast.
A small fishing village that drew several major painters from about 1892, where they depicted its boats, warmth, trees, light and bathers. From Paul Signac on.
From Anna Hills’ unspoilt coast near Laguna Beach in 1915, to Paul Dougherty’s California Cliffs of 1935, with others by Guy Rose, Granville Redmond, and more.
From Albert Bierstadt’s visit to the Farallon Islands in 1872, to George Bellows in 1917, with paintings from Mannheim, Granville Redmond and others in between.
Paintings from Childe Hassam of his summer campaigns on Appledore Island, and from Robert Henri and his pupil George Bellows, mainly from the 20th century.
Paintings from 1845 by Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church his pupil, Winslow Homer, and other American artists from the 18th century.
Coastal landscapes from Claude in 1639, through visits to the island of Capri, to Étretat and Monet’s series, and Divisionists in the Midi.
The Eclectic Light Company 