The Nude Bathing Scene

French artists Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Suzanne Valadon (1865-1938), and William-Adolphe Bourguerau (1825-1905) had artistic careers that overlapped, partially by way of their subject matter. Though Degas is quite firmly cemented within the impressionist tradition, while Valadon was more of a post-impressionist, they were good friends and contemporaries. This is also despite scholarly ambivalence about Degas intentions and purpose in choosing to depict lower class women who were often assumed to be prostitutes. However, Valadon did not begin life in the same social sphere. She grew up in poverty, and worked modeling for those such as Lautrec, Morisot, and Renoir. She learned from watching the artists she posed for, and in the 1880’s began her artistic career. She was well respected, and her work was admired by her friend Degas. Her informal training combined with her social status and modeling experience influenced her unique style and perspective that gave her work and depiction of women a little before seen depth and character. Alternatively, William-Adolphe Bourguerau worked within the academic art tradition. Though Bourguerau was extremely skilled and famous within his time, many others, including Degas were known to be openly derogatory towards him, as they believed his work was too old-fashioned and conventional. 

All three of these French artists in their differing styles painted, sculpted, and drew many female bathing nudes throughout their careers, which overlapped partially. They built upon the same foundation, exemplified in Rembrandt’s Bathsheba at Her Bath (1654), but their differing styles and philosophies resulted in contrasting representation. All of the artworks included here depict women who are unselfconsciously bathing. Yet, the narrative of Bathsheba at Her Bath (1654) imposes limitations on how nude women are represented that remained in the social archive for years to come, and the visual language of After the Bath (1875) promotes that limitation, that nude women depicted in art are promiscuous in some way. Degas and Valadon counter that in their portrayals.  Whatever their intentions were, Degas and Valadon both achieved a more humanizing representation of female nude bathers than Bourguerau.

Rembrandts’ Bathsheba at Her Bath (Bathsheba Holding King David’s Letter), 1654. Oil on canvas, 

142 x 142 cm. The Louvre.

This historical painting is a depiction of Bathsheba from the biblical narrative. It is interesting to note that this is an interior scene, which contrasts the setting of Rembrandt’s earlier painting The Toilet of Bathsheba (1643). Her pale body is naturalistic, and stands out against the dark background, and though the drape covers her pubic region, which is a necessary element within most female bathing nude works. Another oft-repeated element is a female servant who is fully clothed, which provides further contrast.  The narrative that this painting reinforces and which remains for hundreds of years is that nude women within art are promiscuous. 

William-Adolph Bourguereau’s After the Bath, 1875. Oil on Canvas, 152 x 90.5 cm. Private Collection.

Many of Bourguereau’s paintings depicted mythological figures such as gods, goddesses, satyrs, and nymphs (the latter shown here). His work was often described as smooth, waxy, and romanticized, all of which accurately describe this painting. The female nymph is naturalistic in terms of accurate musculature and build, but he gave her an overly polished look, and an empty expression. The setting, narrative, and form do nothing to give her particularity or purpose, other than vaguely drying.

Edgar Degas, Woman Having Her Hair Combed, 1886-88. Pastel, 29 ⅛” x 23 ⅞”. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

One of the many ways in which this pastel departs from Bouguereau is that it is not historical or referencing mythology. It simply depicts a modern woman of the time, not based in any narrative, just enjoying a familiar, everyday task of hair care. The composition has a foundational X- shape, created by the intersection of the towel, woman’s body, and the chaise. This shape provides a stability to the composition that further reinforces the comfortable, safe tone of the piece. The ever present drapery is not covering her at all, instead she is sitting on it. It is a much more naturalistic rendering in terms of environment than previous works selected here. 

Edgar Degas, Woman Seated in Armchair Wiping Her Left Armpit. Bronze Sculpture, 

32.1 x 31.8 x 19.7 cm. Modeled 1895, Cast 1920.

This sculpture could fall under what some critics of Degas called a more degrading or embarrassing pose, though others simply see it as naturalistic. Whatever the original intent may have been, it differs greatly from the Bouguereau painting in that it is a humanizing and familiar position, the woman is in the act of bathing, and just as in Woman Having her Hair Combed, is seated on the towel instead of having it draped around her. 

Suzanne Valadon,  After the Bath, 1893. Black crayon on tan paper, 20.6 x 13.5 cm. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

This drawing is representative of many of the drawings and paintings Valadon did both in subject matter and style. She favored dark outlines and plain figures. Since it is less detailed than the other works included here, the details that are included are all the more important. She is represented naturalistically, as it is the only work within these selections to indicate hair in the armpits and pubic regions. She is simply focused on drying her body, and is actually using the towel she is sitting on, unlike in the Rembrandt and Bouguereau paintings included here.