Les Baigneurs : LES BAINS A VINGT CENTIMES. NOUVEAU STYLE

LES BAINS A VINGT CENTIMES. NOUVEAU STYLE. Dites donc vieux! l'eau est-elle bonne? Mchant mme, si elle tait bonne, on n'en donnerait pas tant pour quatre sous. Translation:"THE PUBLIC BATH FOR 20 CENTIMES. NEW STYLE. - I say, old man.. is the water any good? - Poor idiot! if it were any good, they wouldn't give us that much for just 4 Sous."LES BAIGNEURS (The swimmers) is a series of 30 numbered lithographs, which appeared in the Charivari between June 11, 1839 and September 27, 1842. ALBUM. A special edition of this whole series was offered as an album at a price of 16 Francs. Also see the handwritten remarks by Goullet, secretary of the Charivari on the prints of the Rosenwald collection, exhibited in Washington, D.C. in 1979. ABOUT THIS SERIES. The source of the river Seine is found in Burgundy, runs through Paris and ends in the Channel. The public baths in the Seine offered a highly welcomed refreshment in summer. According to information by Provost one of the ""Bathing Boats" called ""Petit, Ecole de Natation"" was moored very close to Daumier's house at the Quai d'Anjou on the river Seine. In turning over this album all the different schools of swimming, from the working-man's bath at 10 Centimes up to the noble baths, where one walks on rugs. Daumier even allows us to peak a stolen glance at the ladies aquatic section. We also enjoy a view of the Seine and those strong gentlemen racing the train in the water, swimming against the current. We see all these aspects from their amusing angle, because Daumier's drawings are filled with grotesque physiognomies, amusing scenes and all those little mishaps which strike the unfortunate swimmer. (from a Charivari advertisement August 2, 1843) The French painter Delacroix (1798-1863) was so impressed by Daumiers Bathers that he pinned a lithograph from this series to the wall of his studio. He advised his students to look at Daumiers prints exhibited in the windows of Auberts gallery in order to appreciate this masters drawing talent.""-- from http://www.daumier-register.org/