A pupil of Watteau, Jean-Baptiste Pater closely followed the style and subject matter of his teacher, trading on his reputation as a painter of fêtes galantes, and other open air entertainments. The Bathers is an overtly erotic essay in the genre, whose voyeuristic overtones are accentuated by the detail of a man being led away from the bath. The source of the motif can be found in the mythological tale of the hunter, Acteon, who is punished for stumbling upon the naked goddess, Diana, at her bath.

(back to top)