ALBRECHT DÜRER 1471–1528
The Bathhouse, circa 1496-97

woodcut on paper with watermark Imperial Orb, 39 x 28,2 cm

A very fine, rare and early Meder b impression

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Switzerland

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Catalogue raisonné: Bartsch 128; Meder 266b; Schoch-Mende-Scherbaum 107b

This large woodcut is the first executed by Dürer after his return to Nuremburg following his trip to Venice. It is one of Dürer's most famous woodcuts. The subject is non-religious, a rarity among the prints he had created until then. The scene is intriguing. A group of six men is shown in what appears to be the outdoor area of a bathhouse. They are nude or clothed in undergarments which cover only the bare minimum. Except for the man drinking on the right, they are all young and have striking athletic, muscular bodies. Especially the man standing at the water faucet on the left catches the eye of the viewer. The humorous positioning and shape of the faucet is a rather clear allusion.

It is not surprising that for some viewers Dürer's Bathhouse seems to be of erotic nature. This interpretation is motivated also by the artist's close friendship with the Humanist and lawyer Willibald Pirckheimer (1470–1530). He wrote a more than explicit homoerotic comment on the portrait drawing that Dürer had executed of him (Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett inv. no. KdZ 24623). Several commentators identified Pirckheimer on the woodcut as the man drinking on the right and Dürer as the man leaning on the faucet post. This would give The Bathhouse a personal character. As tempting as such an interpretation might be, I doubt it makes much sense. To me the facial features of the drinking man differ significantly from those in the above-mentioned portrait drawing of Pirckheimer. An even more important objection to a personal interpretation is the simple fact that The Bathhouse is a woodcut intended to sell to a wider public also outside Nuremberg. Why would the buyers of this print be interested in a private scene? In my opinion only the man next to the water faucet can be identified: he resembles Albrecht Dürer.  

If the subject is not a personal one, what ist it? And why was the woodcut of interest to Dürer's contemporary collectors? Perhaps we simply start to look at what it actually shows? We see six men in the foreground, one man behind the fence looking at them and a fantastically rendered cityscape in the background, inspired by Dürer's hometown Nuremberg. Four of the men form two pairs: the two men facing each other in the front and the two musicians behind them. In addition, there are the man standing at the left and the man drinking on the right. The facial expressions of all six men are serious, perhaps even sad. The man leaning on the faucet post rests his head in his hand. This is a well-known gesture of melancholy. The man's fingers reveal his ear, thus it seems that he is listening to the music.
It has been suggested convincingly that five of the men represent the five senses: the man standing at the left „hearing“, the man in the left foreground with the skin rasp „touch“, his companion with the carnation „smell“, the drinking man „taste“ and the man behind the fence „sight“.
How realistic is the scene? I doubt that the outdoor area of a bathhouse was visible to passers-by in Nuremberg of the time. Otherwise, the men would wear more proper clothes. To me the woodcut raises a couple of further questions. Being together in a bathhouse, listening to music, drinking and enjoying the company of friends: why are the men not cheerful? Why is the water in the basin only ankle-deep? Why is there no water flowing from the faucet? Why do the stone blocks in the foreground have unrepaired damage and why are most of the iron staples there missing? To me the whole atmosphere feels sad and melancholic. It is interesting that Dürer published the woodcut shortly after a 1496 edict forced the bathhouses in Nuremberg to close, because of both an outbreak of syphilis and a drought. To me it seems plausible that this explains the serious character of the scene, which could show a last, idealized visit to the bathhouse. Dürer might have created the woodcut for the numerous men who missed their beloved bathhouses and the good times they had there, including himself. But beyond that simple genre scene, Dürer used the subject to show off his newly developed skills influenced by Italian Renaissance art he encountered in Venice and elsewhere: representing athletic, male bodies, based on antique sculptures, and the use of central perspective. Last but not least, he demonstrates his unique ability to show a cityscape in the background, which in turn influenced the Italian Renaissance artists.
In summary, I don't believe Dürer created this woodcut with personal or even erotic intentions. It rather aimed at his Humanist collectors. Many of them must have shared nostalgic memories of the recently closed Nuremberg bathhouses. Some of them, perhaps also Dürer himself, could well have had amorous adventures there, but this is not shown in the woodcut. For Dürer as well as for his educated collectors what made the work so interesting were the latest artistic achievements which he brought back from Italy. Dürer proudly demonstrates these and translates them into his own style. Furthermore he shows his unique artistry in the woodcut technique. For Dürer's contemporaries The Bathouse was revolutionary. In addition, they must have enjoyed deciphering the allegory of the five senses. As a work of art that combines all these different aspects The Bathhouse was and still is prized very highly. And the timeless, humorous faucet-underwear relation of the man at the water source will attract the same attention in the future as it did in 1496. Certainly it will continue to be one of the funniest eye catchers in art history.