Artwork
The Laundress: La Blanchisseuse de la place Dauphine
The Laundress: La Blanchisseuse de la place Dauphine is a print by the Impressionist artist James McNeill Whistler. It dates from 1894 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
The Laundress: La Blanchisseuse de la place Dauphine is a print by James McNeill Whistler depicting a laundry shop on Paris's place Dauphine.
Subject & Meaning
The print shows laundresses at work, viewed through a doorway, their sleeves rolled up. This everyday scene was a subject of interest for urban dwellers and artists alike, capturing a mundane aspect of city life.
Technique & Style
The scene is rendered in a quiet, snapshot-like manner, with a woman in a white apron prominent in the doorway, and two others scrubbing clothes in a steamy room behind her.
Context
Whistler, an American expatriate living in Paris, was drawn to the city's ordinary life and storefronts, a fascination shared by other artists, including Edgar Degas, who also depicted laundresses.
Artist & collection
Artist
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.
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The Laundress: "La Blanchisseuse de la Place Dauphine"