Jean-Léon Gérôme

Sale: American Art Association, New York, 28 March, 1935, lot 43

Paris, Salon, 1898

Le Figaro illustré, 1898, p. 7
Haller, Nos grands peintres, Paris, 1899, p. 156
Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme. Monographie révisée. Catalogue raisonné mis à jour, Paris, 2000, p. 348, no. 449, catalogued and illustrated (as lost)

The canvas has been relined. The painting is overall in good condition, and its appearance is good. Under ultraviolet light the varnish fluoresces in some areas obscuring a clear reading of the surface; some scattered retouchings are visible which are minor given the overall size of the composition, notably scattered thin lines addressing craquelure near the lower edge, in the chin of the seated woman in the centre, and in the gown of the standing guard. Presented in a decorative gilt rococo-style frame with floral and shell motifs, and a nameplate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Gérôme's splendid depiction of three women lounging around a round hot pool in a private bathhouse under the watchful eye of their attendant epitomises the bath scenes central to his work in the 1890s, and which built on the success of his most celebrated bath scene, La Grande piscine à Bursa shown to great acclaim at the Paris Salon of 1885 (fig. 1).

Gérôme had visited Bursa in 1879, but already the genre of the Turkish bath was well established. Delacroix, Ingres, and Chassériau had received critical acclaim for their various nudes set in Turkish interiors. Ingres' famous rendition of this subject in 1862 is an exotic fantasy of voluptuous flesh and writhing bodies. In contrast, Femmes au bain seems devoid of lasciviousness: the nudes are not shown as examples of primitive sensuality; they are simply engaged in the social activity of bathing. Instead of portraying his models in erotic poses, Gérôme observes the movement of muscle and flesh as the body turns and flexes, and records the manner in which light falls on the skin.

Gérôme's painted nudes of the eighteen-nineties benefited from the intense study of the nude he had taken up as he started to sculpt. The foreground figure is based on his sculpture of 1895 now in the Detroit Institute, itself modelled from direct observation in his studio. Such transpositions provide a fascinating insight into the working methods underlying his finished compositions.