Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2012.

The Bath

Artist Charles Gleyre (Swiss, 1806-1874)

Date1868

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions35 1/2 x 25 in. (90.2 x 63.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 49 x 38 x 5 1/2 in. (124.5 x 96.5 x 14 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.2069

Terms

Women
Baby
Bathing
White
Gray
Gold
Orange
Black
Green

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting depicting an atrium in a Roman household. Two women (possibly sisters) stand at a bath, one of them holding a child. At the right, a nude woman watches as the mother, clothed on the left, bathes her infant.

Label TextCharles Gleyre Swiss, active France, 1806–1874 The Bath, 1868 Oil on canvas The precise draftsmanship and radiant forms of paintings like The Bath distinguished Charles Gleyre as a leading academic master. So too did his choice of subjects. Gleyre used this imaginary scene of an ancient Roman family bathing at an alabaster font to demonstrate his mastery of the classical nude. The girl at right—her supple skin as luminous as polished marble—was based on an ancient Roman sculptural relief then on view in Paris. While he devoted earlier canvases to grand historical subjects, here Gleyre’s classical subject exudes a sense of quiet grace. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2069