bathers

Bathers are individuals who are swimming, washing, or sunbathing in water or at a bath. The term can denote participants at beaches, pools, rivers, or spa environments, or figures depicted in art and photography.

Historically, public and communal baths have existed since ancient times. In ancient Rome and Greece, baths were both hygienic facilities and social centers. Later eras saw varying degrees of public bathing availability; in medieval Europe, bathing declined in some periods due to concerns about disease, but by the 18th and 19th centuries European cities built new municipal baths and widespread seaside resorts promoted bathing as recreation. In other regions, bathing traditions persisted through hammams, onsen, sento, and sauna-based cultures.

In cultural practice, bathers engage in bathing or swimming for hygiene, recreation, sport, or ritual. Public baths and bathhouses offer facilities, sometimes gender-separated, with etiquette around cleanliness, towel usage, and damp areas. In many cultures, bathing also carries spiritual or therapeutic dimensions.

In art, the subject of bathers has been prominent since the 19th century. Notable works include Paul Cézanne's Les Grandes Baigneuses and early studies of bathers by other artists; the motif has been used to explore form, geometry, and the human body in levels of abstraction.

In contemporary usage, "bathers" is common in describing swimmers, beachgoers, pool users, or people in bathing attire. Safety concerns include water quality, drowning risk, weather conditions, sun exposure, and adherence to local rules and etiquette.