[The Royal Private Baths]
"Bath water will frequently induce an intoxicating kind of giddiness," observed an 1840s spa guide. The city of Bath’s thermal springs had, by that time, become the effervescent center of an English bathing boom. As convalescents and courtiers came and went, local reverend Francis Lockey stayed put, making architectural studies of his changing town. Absent any giddiness, his abrupt view of a bathhouse nevertheless intoxicates with its sinuous curves and shrewd geometry.
Experimenting with photography in the medium’s first decade, Lockey likely learned to make paper negatives from William Henry Fox Talbot, who invented his calotype process a few miles down the road. The technique’s long exposure times limited Lockey’s use of human subjects. To appear here, the exceptional gentleman at right summoned the sober pose of the statues above his head.
Experimenting with photography in the medium’s first decade, Lockey likely learned to make paper negatives from William Henry Fox Talbot, who invented his calotype process a few miles down the road. The technique’s long exposure times limited Lockey’s use of human subjects. To appear here, the exceptional gentleman at right summoned the sober pose of the statues above his head.
Artwork Details
- Title: [The Royal Private Baths]
- Artist: Rev. Francis Lockey (British, 1796–1869)
- Date: ca. 1849
- Medium: Paper negative
- Dimensions: 18.6 x 20.2 cm (7 5/16 x 7 15/16 in. )
- Classification: Negatives
- Credit Line: The Rubel Collection, Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1997
- Object Number: 1997.382.56
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
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William Henry Fox Talbot (British, Dorset 1800–1877 Lacock)
probably 1835
ca. 1855
Roger Fenton (British, 1819–1869)
1858
Julia Margaret Cameron (British (born India), Calcutta 1815–1879 Kalutara, Ceylon)
1867
Joseph Cundall (British, Norwich, Norfolk 1818–1895 Wallington, Surrey)
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