La baigneuse (vue de dos)

This 1842 Bather Seen from Behind at the Bavarian State Painting Collections exemplifies Chassériau's sustained engagement with the female nude in outdoor settings, a theme that allowed the synthesis of classical figure study with the sensuous color of Romantic painting. The back view—a compositional strategy that simultaneously displays the body and withholds the face—creates an enigmatic figure whose identity and psychology remain unknown. Seen from behind, the female nude becomes primarily formal—an arrangement of forms, light, and skin—while maintaining the implication of psychological interiority signaled by the averted gaze. Chassériau uses the device to balance classical objectification with a hint of the subject's own consciousness.

The bather's back is modeled with extraordinary subtlety, Chassériau's precise contour drawing combined with warm, sensuous flesh tones creating an image that bridges the classical tradition of Ingres and the romantic colorism of Delacroix.