The Men's Bath House (c. 1496–97): Art, History and Details

The Men's Bath House (c. 1496–97) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Albrecht Dürer’s depiction of men relaxing in a public bath house was unusual in the early 1500s because it showed nudity without an accompanying mythological or biblical narrative. The print showcases Dürer’s ability to depict the male figure in various inventive poses and may feature portraits of some of his friends. Meant to be studied closely, the image includes visual puns such as the faucet placed near the man’s groin at left. The popularity of the print during Dürer’s lifetime may relate to the 1496 closure of the public bath in his hometown of Nuremberg to prevent a syphilis outbreak.

Object facts

• Title: The Men's Bath House
• Date: c. 1496–97
• Creator attribution: Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528)
• Culture: Germany, late 15th
• Type: Print
• Technique: woodcut
• Collection: PR - Woodcut
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1969.271

Collection credit

Fiftieth anniversary gift of The Print Club of Cleveland

Further reading listed by the museum

• “Annual Report for 1969.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 57, no. 6 (June 1970): 163–193.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.