Comforts of Bath, Plate 6
January 6, 1798
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 8 3/4 × 11 1/4 in. (22.3 × 28.5 cm) Plate: 7 3/4 × 10 1/4 in. (19.7 × 26 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
59.533.559(5)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Thomas Rowlandson’s “Comforts of Bath, Plate 6,” dated January 6, 1798, is an etching that forms part of a well-known series satirizing life in the fashionable English spa town of Bath. Rowlandson, a leading British caricaturist of the Georgian period, used his fluid line and gentle wit to poke fun at the social rituals, ailments, and pretensions of visitors who came to take the waters. The print’s modest size and etching medium made it easy to produce and circulate, allowing a wide audience to enjoy its humorous commentary on everyday scenes. The work reflects the cultural importance of Bath...
About the Artist
Thomas Rowlandson · 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...