Artwork
Washerwomen
Washerwomen is an oil painting by Émile Lambinet. It dates from 1856 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
About this work
Overview
Washerwomen is an oil painting created by Émile Lambinet around 1856. It is a representative example of 19th-century genre painting, depicting everyday life in a rural setting.
Subject & Meaning
The painting shows two women doing laundry by a river, dressed in long-sleeved dresses and hats. The scene is tranquil, with the women's daily task set against a backdrop of natural beauty, featuring a rocky riverbank, trees, and distant buildings.
Technique & Style
Lambinet's use of oil paint captures the play of light on the water and surrounding foliage, creating a sense of serenity. The artist's training under Horace Vernet and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot is reflected in the painting's attention to natural light and its effects.
History & Provenance
Lambinet, a French painter known for rural scenes, spent much of his life in the Yvelines region. The painting is now held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
Artist & collection
Artist
Émile Lambinet (1813, Versailles – 1877, Bougival) was a French painter of rural scenes. A student of Horace Vernet then Corot, he spent most of his life in Yvelines, at first in his birthplace of Versailles, then at Bougival from 1860.
