ART IN THE SHOWER

Water is a natural element that often shows up in visual arts like painting. There are in fact many famous paintings and frescos in which bathing is the focal point of the work. The French painter Degas did a series of paintings in which bathrooms, specifically bathtubs, were the focus of the work. Degas’s interpretation of the bathroom is evident in Woman in her Bath, Sponging her Leg, Bather Stepping into a Tub, The Tub, painted from 1883-1890. The concept is simple and intimate, where the tub represents a private, pleasurable moment enjoyed in everyday life. Art’s strong association to the bathroom, shower, and tub are witnessed in other works as well. From the most famous works of Frida Kahlo, there is What the Water Gave Me, in which along with the artist’s legs in the tub water, there are also the subject’s pains, painted with great attention and care. The Child’s Bath is a perfect pop image that is reminiscent of a comic version reproduced in advertising with the bathroom at the centre of the concept.

The Colombian artist Botero painted an entire series of paintings set in the bathroom featuring bright colours, unique shapes and figures that are recognisable not only in painting but also in graphics and sculpture. Man in the Shower is a work by Hockney from the 1960s, in the middle of which water, curtains, and simple domestic scenes are represented. The painting is a modern collage in which the masculine subject is almost absorbed by daily living. There are many more works of art which include bathroom scenes and interesting connections to consider.

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