In 1869, when this picture was painted, Monet and Renoir were living near one another at Saint-Michel, just west of Paris. They often visited "La Grenouillère," a swimming spot with a boat rental and a café on the Seine. On September 25, Monet wrote to Frédéric Bazille: "I do have a dream, a painting, the baths of 'La Grenouillère' for which I've done a few bad rough sketches, but it is a dream. Renoir, who has just spent two months here, also wants to do this painting." There are six known paintings of the subject, three by each artist. This example is nearly identical in composition to the one by Renoir in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; they were undoubtedly painted side by side.

Open full-size image