Antes del baño

Before the Bath is an oil on canvas by Ramon Casas, dated 1894, a period when the painter was active within Catalan modernisme and devoted much of his output to intimate scenes of domestic life. The work belongs to a group of paintings on washing and personal grooming, a subject that French artists such as Degas had already handled with great mastery. Casas, however, did not seek the boldness or explicit sensuality of those models; he preferred a more idealised gaze, in which everyday routine becomes calm and almost hushed. The woman undressing stands at the centre, dressed in intense white, and light filtering through the blind surrounds her face and hair, creating a mysterious atmosphere that binds together every element of the interior. The tall, narrow format, much taller than it is wide, heightens the sense of a frozen moment. It is a representative example of how Catalan modernisme turned the ordinary into a subject for contemplation.

Painter

Ramon Casas

Date

1894

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

725 × 60 cm

Museum

Museum of Montserrat, Monistrol de Montserrat

Movement

Catalan modernism, Art Nouveau

Genre

genre art, portrait

Depicts

chignon, storage water heater, bathtub, bathroom, standing, brown hair, washing, louver

Share:FacebookWhatsApp