Roman Baths, Reflections

£2,500.00

An original watercolour which features the preserved Roman temple and thermal spring and the Gothic Abbey bathed in late afternoon sunlight.

The Abbey showcases stunning stained glass and fan vaulting whilst the Roman Baths feature the classical Roman architecture.

I’ve been to Bath several times and had several successes in the Bath Prize painting competition. My watercolour of the Royal Crescent was runner up in 2010. My painting of the Circus won a prize the following year.

1 in stock

Dimensions 30 × 53 cm
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Bath City

“Roman Baths, Reflections” is an original watercolour inspired by sketchbook watercolours painted on location in Bath.
Roman baths were elaborate social leisure centres with underfloor heating. They featured hot, warm and cold pools plus gymnasiums, libraries and snack bars. They use natural spring water for daily hygiene and business.

People cleaned themselves with olive oil and strigils, not soap, and used these complexes for networking, exercise, and even worship, with some sites like Aquae Sulis dedicated to the goddess Sulis Minerva.  

They were used for more than just bathing, baths were vital social centers where Romans met friends, discussed politics, conducted business, and even dined.
The water was heated in fiery furnaces under the raised floors of the baths. The resulting steam was channeled through special chambers under the floors and in the walls. This mechanism was very efficient – so much so that unless bath floors were very thick, they would be too hot to walk on.