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The Men’s Bath

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

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

Date:

1496/97

Artist:

Albrecht Dürer
German, 1471-1528

About this artwork

Albrecht Dürer’s strikingly modern woodcut of men relaxing at an open-air bath boasts deep, dark ink and a warm, creamy paper tone suited to its celebration of naked flesh. This impression looks much the way it would have when it came off Dürer’s press around 1497. While others might have been posted on walls, perhaps at bathhouses, this particular Men’s Bath appears to have largely escaped handling until close to the present day. While ostensibly a genre scene, the print may protest the Nuremberg Council’s 1496 edict forbidding the town’s residents to visit bathhouses after an outbreak of syphilis and a drought.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Albrecht Dürer

Title

The Men’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.

1496–1497

Medium

Woodcut in black on cream laid paper

Dimensions

Image/sheet, trimmed within block: 39.2 × 28.3 cm (15 7/16 × 11 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

The Amanda S. Johnson and Marion J. Livingston Fund

Reference Number

2009.133

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/197566/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.

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