Jan Stobbaerts, Rozenbad

by Atelier Liesjes

A young woman stands naked on a sandy path in an overgrown garden. She holds a translucent, grey-green cloth in front of her hips, her head is tilted back and her eyes are closed; a narrow streak of light falls across her face. All around her, rose bushes in white and pale pink are in bloom, so dense that they fill the lower half of the picture. Behind her rises the trunk of an old tree; above it, foliage in shades of olive green, moss green and almost black frames the scene. To the right, a wooden trellis stands against the wall. Her feet are placed side by side on the sand, her toes slightly curled, as if she has just stopped walking. In the distance, the garden fades into a green haze. The paint is thin and milky, with soft transitions between skin, canvas and foliage. The pose is not that of an academic study: the woman is momentarily lost in thought, her eyes closed, her arms at her sides. Here, Stobbaerts seems primarily concerned with capturing the light filtering through the foliage, rendering the skin almost translucent. The style leans towards Symbolism and Impressionism, with a hint of Arcadian mythology: a nymph in a forgotten garden, rather than a specific bather. The ‘rose bath’ of the title is a bath of scents and flowers, not a tub of water. It is precisely this vagueness that makes the image so tranquil and intimate. Jan Stobbaerts (Antwerp 1838 – Antwerp 1914) became known for his scenes of livestock and stables, but also produced freer, lyrical garden and figure pieces in which he could showcase his loose brushwork and his sense of subdued light. He worked throughout his life in and around Antwerp, where he spent his time amongst the animals at the cattle market and the farms of the Kempen. A gentle, dreamy work for an intimate interior.