Bathing Women - Various Artists (HD)

Part 1: Part 2: A woman undressing to take a bath is at her most vulnerable — alone, half-nude, self-absorbed, unprepared for prying eyes. For centuries, however, women experienced the ordinary act of washing in less than complete solitude. Women of a certain class were rarely alone, even when attending to the most intimate parts of their bodies. Their lives were, in a sense, communal property, especially those of wealthier women who until the mid-19th century were most frequently depicted in the artwork. The evolution of how women experienced bathing and grooming, and how artists portrayed those moments, is the subject of our presentation. We will present many artworks, etchings, and drawings, that reflect the most private moments in a woman’s day, as she washes her hair, buttons her dress, and swims. Some painters’ early works on this subject, inspired modern painters to adopt a radical and constructive means of painting.