RIEHEN, May 3 -- A Swiss museum made a splash yesterday by inviting in the public in their swimwear to enjoy Paul Cezanne's iconic paintings of people bathing.

At the Fondation Beyeler outside Basel, a young woman in a black swimsuit with a towel draped over her shoulder sat gazing at one artwork, while to her right a shirtless man in orange trunks perused the brush strokes.

"It's quite absurd" and "daring" as an idea, but "I like it", Julien Rondez, a 34-year-old Swiss graphic designer, told AFP.

He agreed to "play along" with the concept even though he had already seen the exhibition.

This time, he said, the visitors in their swimming costumes become "a kind of artwork within the museum".

Sat on a green towel on a bench and browsin...