Artwork
Return from the Wash House (Retour de lavoir)
Return from the Wash House (Retour de lavoir) is an ink print by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen. It dates from 1912 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Return from the Wash House is a 1912 print by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, a Swiss-born French artist associated with Art Nouveau. It is a color soft-ground etching and aquatint on zinc.
Subject & Meaning
The print shows three working-class women walking together in a city, their simple and worn clothing suggesting a laborious daily routine. The scene conveys a sense of solidarity and fatigue, capturing the lives of marginalized figures.
Technique & Style
Steinlen employed loose, sketchy marks to convey movement and mood, using soft-ground etching and aquatint to achieve a range of tonal values and textures. The resulting image has a hurried, spontaneous feel, with smudged lines and rough, plain buildings.
Artist & collection
Artist
Théophile Alexandre Steinlen (November 10, 1859 – December 13, 1923), was a Swiss-born French Art Nouveau painter and printmaker. He was politically engaged and collaborated with the anarchist and socialist press.
Washerwomen (Les Laveuses)
Le Déménagement
Reconquered Territory (recto)
Après la saisie (After the Seizure)
Après la saisie (After the Seizure)
"Voyons! Mme Majeste..."
Potato Lifting
Bread-Sellers
Peasants Carrying Sticks (Paysannes portant des fagots)
Chestnut Vendors (Marchands de marrons)
The Distant City (La ville lointaine)
Le retour au foyer (The Return Home)