Bathing
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Bathing is the washing or cleansing of the body in a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution. It may be practised for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes or as a recreational activity.
Bathing can take place in any situation where there is water. It can take place in a bathtub or shower, or it can be in a river, lake, water hole, pool or the sea, or any other water receptacle. The term used to describe the act can vary. For example, a ritual religious bath is usually referred to as immersion, the use of water for therapeutic purposes can be called water treatment or hydrotherapy, and engaging in recreational water activities can be called swimming.
The intentional immersion of the body in any agent may be considered bathing, for example sunbathing is the "immersion" in sunlight.
There are towns which have become famous for their public baths, such as Bath (known during ancient Roman times as Aquae Sulis), a Roman city in England famous for healing hydrothermal springs. It was a popular resort town for the wealthy from Elizabethan to Georgian times.
In art
- The Bathers, a popular title for bathing women in art
- The Turkish Bath, painting by Ingres
- Grand Bath at Bursa, painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme
- In the Tepidarium, painting by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
See also
- Balneotherapy
- Bathing machine
- Destination Spa
- Hamam
- Navy shower
- Nudity
- Public Bathing
- Sea bathing
- Sentō
- Shower
- Spas
- Thermae
