Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–5 public

  • Mon 11–5
  • Tue–Wed Closed
  • Thu 11–8
  • Fri–Sun 11–5
  • The first hour of every day, 10–11 a.m., is reserved for member-only viewing.

The Children's Bath

A work made of engraving in black on cream laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

Image actions

  • A work made of engraving in black on cream laid paper.

Date:

1480/90

Artist:

Israhel van Meckenem the Younger
German, c. 1440/45-1503

About this artwork

Albrecht Dürer and Sebald Beham likely knew Israhel van Meckenem’s earlier genre scene of seven children bathing, misbehaving, and playing around a large wooden tub, supervised by a bathmaid. Those artists’ related prints (Dürer’s The Men’s Bath, 2009.133 and Beham’s The Women’s Bath, 2010.518) take place in outdoor male and indoor female baths, respectively. All three celebrate different aspects of bathing culture, a relatively infrequent activity during the Renaissance. Though it has not been annotated in this impression, the empty, winding banner above Meckenem’s Children’s Bath offers the viewer a space to interact with the image as playfully as the splashing and roughhousing boys themselves.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Israhel van Meckenem, the younger

Title

The Children's Bath

Place

Germany (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1495

Medium

Engraving in black on cream laid paper

Dimensions

Image/sheet: 10.9 × 13.7 cm (4 5/16 × 5 7/16 in.)

Credit Line

Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.

Reference Number

1956.846

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/3789/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.
Learn more

Image actions

Share

Suggested Terms