Les Laveuses (The Laundresses)

1771

Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

Associated Names
Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

Artist, French, 1734 - 1781

The image shows a low vantage point of a rustic setting. In the foreground, figures are washing near a stream with basins and laundry items. A thatched-roof cottage is nestled against a low hill, partially obscured by trees. The cottage leads to a wooden structure. Trees populate the scene, concealing the horizon. They vary in size and shape with winding branches and detailed foliage blending into the sky. Stylized clouds fill the sky. The image is in a monochromatic scheme of brown tones. Brushstrokes are intricate, highlighting textures and details.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Johann Nepomuk Seiler (1793 - 1876) (not in Lugt). (sale, Karl & Faber, Munich, 27 May 2009, no. 235); (Christopher Mendez, London); purchased 2009 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

2021

  • Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2021 - 2022.

Bibliography

1879

  • Hedou, Jules. Jean Le Prince et son oeuvre. Paris: J. Baur Libraire, 1879: no. 148.

2021

  • Hoisington, Rena. Aquatint: From Its Origins to Goya. Washington, 2021: 55, fig. 8.

Inscriptions

lower right in plate: Le Prince 1771; by later hand, lower center of mount in brown ink: Le Laveuse; by later hand, lower center verso in brown ink: Le Prince fec / Manuel de Huber Tom VIII. pag 249. no 25

Wikidata ID

Q76441147

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