The bather's are bordered by tress on either side of them. Each person is lent inward, making a triangle shape and framing the lake. Cézanne did this to keep his nudes in pre-determined spaces. For this painting there are at least twenty practice compositions of the different bathers and their varying poses.
The foreground of The Large Bathers is filled with figures and the nudes are mirroring each other. In the center the bather are knelt down with their arms leaning toward each other. The nudes looking toward the lagoon draw the viewer's attention to the people in the backdrop.