Bathing Woman, Reflecting in the Water

A bathing woman, her foot resting on a tree trunk, bends over to admire her reflection in a pool. The seeming naturalism of the scene is complicated by Max Klinger’s ambiguous title, which suggests that the sculpture may be the woman’s reflection cast back into the world in bronze. Does the sculpture represent the bathing woman or her reflection? Double meanings and playful interpretations of ancient Greek and Roman models distinguish Klinger’s art.