Comforts of Bath, Plate 4
January 6, 1798
Medium
Hand-colored etching and aquatint
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 3/16 × 9 9/16 in. (18.3 × 24.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1959
Accession Number
59.533.558(4)
Tags
Art Historical Context
"Comforts of Bath, 4" is a lively hand-colored etching and aquatint by renowned British caricaturist Thomas Rowland, published by S. W. Fores on January 6 1798. Measuring just 7 3/16 × 9 9/16 inches, this intimate print belongs to Rowlandson's satirical series poking fun at the fashionable excesses of Bath, England's premier spa town during the Georgian era. Bath drew the elite for its therapeutic waters and social whirl, but Rowlandson delighted in exposing the absurdities beneath the glamour. The scene buzzes with everyday chaos: men and women haggling at a fish market, accompanied by playf...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson|S. W. Fores · 1756–1827
Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827) was an English artist and caricaturist whose satirical watercolors and prints captured the social life of Georgian Britain with unparalleled wit and technical mastery. Alongside James Gillray, he is recognized as one of the greatest British graphic artists, and his distinctive flowing line and keen observations have made his work integral to understanding late 18th an...