Feb 19, 2020
Feb 19, 2020

The Little Laundress

Album des peintres-graveurs

The Little Laundress

1896

Pierre Bonnard

(French, 1867–1947)

printer

Auguste Clot

(French, 1858–1936)

publisher

Ambroise Vollard

(French, 1867–1939)

Color lithograph on China paper

Image: 29 x 19.7 cm (11 7/16 x 7 3/4 in.); Sheet: 45.4 x 33.7 cm (17 7/8 x 13 1/4 in.)

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.151

Catalogue raisonné: Bouvet 40

State: I/I

Impression: 46/100

Did you know?

Bonnard was commissioned to create this print by the renowned art dealer Ambroise Vollard for inclusion in his luxury print portfolio titled Album des peintres-graveurs.

Description

This print depicts one of the many women and girls who worked in the Parisian laundry industry during the late 19th century. Carrying a basket that nearly matches her own size, a small silhouetted figure makes her way down an empty street, either picking up or dropping off clothes to a client. Bonnard represented the scene with minimal detail, portraying the laundress as a dark silhouette in stark contrast to the light cobblestones of the street on which she walks.

See also

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