The Turkish Bath, With Two Figures
Seymour Haden was the unlikely combination of a surgeon and an etcher. Although he pursued a very successful medical career, he is mostly remembered for his etched work as well as for his writings on etching. He was one of a group of artists, including James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) and Alphonse Legros (1837–1911), whose passionate interest in the medium led to the so-called etching revival, a period that lasted well into the twentieth century. The extolling of etching for its inherent spontaneous qualities reached its pinnacle during this time. While the line of the etching needle, Haden wrote, was "free, expressive, full of vivacity," that of the burin was "cold, constrained, uninteresting," and "without identity."
Draped woman depicted from the back entering a curtained area; man at left raising his foot on a bench, shampooing the arm of a third figure behind a curtain.
"Published States: First.-The dress of the woman is worked over with dry-point and her hair escapes over her left shoulder. The curtain is shaded."
[Source: Harrington, p. 64]
"Drake catalogues only one published state; Harrington lists a second published state...This appears, rather than as an inteiontal change to the plate, as a wearing of the drypoint through printing. Thus the two published states that Harrington catalogues are here combined.
State IV (D1, H1/2). The woman's drapery has been worked over with drypoint especially near the right hip and on legs; her hair escapes over her left shoudler, almost reaching the shadow on it. The curtain has additional vertical drypoint shading."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 245]
Draped woman depicted from the back entering a curtained area; man at left raising his foot on a bench, shampooing the arm of a third figure behind a curtain.
"Published States: First.-The dress of the woman is worked over with dry-point and her hair escapes over her left shoulder. The curtain is shaded."
[Source: Harrington, p. 64]
"Drake catalogues only one published state; Harrington lists a second published state...This appears, rather than as an inteiontal change to the plate, as a wearing of the drypoint through printing. Thus the two published states that Harrington catalogues are here combined.
State IV (D1, H1/2). The woman's drapery has been worked over with drypoint especially near the right hip and on legs; her hair escapes over her left shoudler, almost reaching the shadow on it. The curtain has additional vertical drypoint shading."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 245]
Artwork Details
- Title: The Turkish Bath, With Two Figures
- Artist: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
- Date: 1865
- Medium: Etching and drypoint; first state of two (Harrington); fourth state of five (Schneiderman)
- Dimensions: Sheet: 11 11/16 × 7 3/8 in. (29.7 × 18.7 cm)
Plate: 8 7/16 × 5 7/16 in. (21.5 × 13.8 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.595
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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