Laurenzo, resident:
“Never go into the water perspiring!” “Wait one hour after a meal before bathing!” Perhaps you still recognise that wise advice from your mother? Or do you now repeat it to your children? What you may not know is that these were golden rules, already in full circulation in the 19th century. There were even booklets on the subject, such as the Guide des baigneurs: traité sur l’usage médical et hygiénique des Bains de Mer. In actual fact, that was a catechism of sorts for the seaside, containing one wise piece of advice after another on what you definitely should and should not do on the beach.
After all, when Ensor painted his Baths at Ostend, people did not swim, splash about and surf as they do today. Besides, most of them couldn’t swim at all. No, you usually went into the water to benefit your health. The cold salt water had a healing effect.
Doctors described the sea as a natural phenomenon that could cure everything from voice loss to tuberculosis, migraines to heartbreak. Thalassotherapy was the solution: a seawater cure. It was important to feel the shock of the cold water. Going deeper into the sea step by step was much less beneficial. So what you see here, with the bucket of water, is not a mischievous game on the beach. It’s shock therapy to benefit your health!