Bath Races

Dublin Core

Title

Bath Races

Subject

Social satire, Medicine in art

Description

During the 18th century the city of Bath became a fashionable tourist attraction by reputation of its spas. Fed by geothermal mineral springs, the hot sulfuric water at Bath was alleged to heal a variety of illnesses and infirmities. “Taking the waters” was especially recommended by doctors for the treatment of gout, a disease associated with an immoderate diet of rich food and wine. In Bath Races, Rowlandson caricatures a group of people crippled by gout and other ailments, hysterically heading for the baths near the River Avon to seek a magic cure rather than admitting to the excesses of their own lifestyles. The buildings at the top of the hill are part of the Royal Crescent residences designed by John Wood in the 18th century, where today the luxury Royal Crescent Hotel is still in business.

Creator

Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827)

Source

[no text]

Publisher

Thomas Tegg, London

Date

1810

Contributor

Debra Cashion, in collaboration with Elisabeth Barrett, '15

Format

Hand-colored etching; original dimensions, 240 X 350 mm

Language

[no text]

Type

Still image

Identifier

[no text]

Coverage

[no text]

Files

Bath Races (2).jpg

Collection

Citation

Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827), “Bath Races,” The Anatomist: Early Modern Medical Satire, accessed March 28, 2024, https://anatomist.omeka.net/items/show/5.