Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–8 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 Men's Bath

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

Image actions

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

Date:

1496/97

Artist:

Albrecht Dürer
German, 1471-1528

About this artwork

Albrecht Dürer’s Men’s Bath has been interpreted in many ways—from a humanist ode to Italian nudes to a group of portraits including three potential views of Dürer and one of his best friend, the rotund Willibald Pirckheimer. The waterline is only ankle-deep for the standing figures, while the seated pair in the foreground is more submerged; a Dürer look-alike controls the strategically placed pump. This large-scale woodcut was published shortly after a 1496 edict closed the bathhouses in Dürer’s hometown of Nuremberg, around the time of both an outbreak of syphilis and a drought. It may therefore be a protest against the edict, or perhaps a nostalgic look at idyllic bathing activities of days past.

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.

Made 1496–1497

Medium

Woodcut in black on buff laid paper

Dimensions

Image/sheet, trimmed within block: 38.3 × 27.8 cm (15 1/8 × 11 in.)

Credit Line

The Charles Deering Collection

Reference Number

1927.2906

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/43940/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