Gezicht op het badhotel in Chaudfontaine 1861 - 1870

This serene image of the bath hotel in Chaudfontaine was captured by Brand Frères. Dominating the foreground, the long, symmetrical building, flanked by meticulously arranged gardens, speaks to the 19th-century fascination with order, health, and nature. Yet, consider the bath itself, a motif that ripples through time. From the Roman thermae, opulent spaces of social cleansing and ritual, to the medieval bathing houses, depicted often in art as places of both healing and communal life. Water, in this context, carries profound symbolism - purity, renewal, and the subconscious depths of our being. Notice the carefully manicured lawns, the symmetrical paths, and the controlled vegetation, all motifs designed to channel nature for human use. These visual cues echo the desire to contain and control the natural world.