The Laundresses (Les blanchisseuses (La repassage))

1879/1880

Edgar Degas

Associated Names
Edgar Degas

Artist, French, 1834 - 1917

This is a painting of an interior scene with soft, impressionistic lines depicting several indistinct figures engaged in indoor activities. The image captures a domestic setting, with a focus on dynamic lighting and shadow play. A figure is shown resting in the foreground, while another is involved in a task. The abstracted lines suggest movement and the textures evoke a sense of quiet, everyday life. This is in the style of Edgar Degas, known for his emphasis on human figures in personal, unposed moments and his exploration of light and shadow.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and aquatint on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 11.7 × 15.8 cm (4 5/8 × 6 1/4 in.)
    sheet (irregular): 21.7 × 29.8 cm (8 9/16 × 11 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1950.16.61

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Reed/Shapiro 1984, no. 48, State iv/iv

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Henri Lerolle [1848-1929], Paris; (Henri M. Petiet [1894-1980], Paris); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], 1950; gift to NGA, 1950.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1955

  • Edgar Degas, Marion Koogler McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, TX, 1955, no cat.

1964

  • Etchings by Edgar Degas, The University of Chicago, 1964, no. 33, repro.

1974

  • Social Concern and the Worker: French Prints from 1830-1910, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City; Cleveland Museum of Art; and Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1974. no. 7, repro.

Bibliography

1906

  • Delteil, Loys. Le peintre-graveur illustre. 31 vols. Paris: Published by the author, 1906-1926. Reprint. New York: Collectors Editions, Da Capo Press, 1969. Vol. 30 (Albert Besnard) is by Louis Godefroy.

1984

  • Reed, Sue Welsh, and Barbara Stern Shapiro. Edgar Degas: The Painter as Printmaker. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1984: no.48, State iv/iv.

Inscriptions

lower left, in graphite by a later hand: Degas.; lower right, in graphite by a later hand: LL[?] 37-; verso, lower left, in brown ink: h.L. [monogram of Henri Lerolle]

Markings

lower right, stamped in the plate, in reverse: [?] Schneider / [?] Str 9 Berlin; verso, at center, stamped in black ink: National Gallery of Art, Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection (L.1932d)

Watermarks

[ARC] HES at upper right

Wikidata ID

Q65222716

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