''The Laundress'' (french: La Blanchisseuse) is a 1761

genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...

by French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725-1805), existing in two versions. The subject of laundresses, also known as

washerwomen A washerwoman or laundress is a woman who takes in laundry. Both terms are now old-fashioned; equivalent work nowadays is done by a laundry worker in large commercial premises, or a laundrette (laundromat) attendant. Description As evidence ...

, was a popular one in art, especially in France. The prime version of ''The Laundress'' was one of fourteen works exhibited by Greuze at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

of 1761 and was part of the collection of Greuze's patron,

Ange Laurent Lalive de Jully Ange-Laurent de La Live de Jully (2 October 1725 – 18 March 1779) was an 18th-century French financier and patron of arts. On 30 June 1741, he married Louise-Elisabeth Chambon, reputed to be more than promiscuous. Madame d'Épinay tells us she ...

. The painting was mostly unknown for more than two centuries as it was purchased in 1770 by

Gustaf Adolf Sparre Count Gustaf Adolf Sparre (1746–1794) was a Swedish art collector. Sparre was born in Gothenburg and travelled widely through Europe, collecting mostly Flemish and Dutch cabinet paintings. His collection of over 100 paintings is unusual because ...

and privately held in that Swedish art collection and rarely seen until it was acquired by the

Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fe ...

in 1983. Bailey, Colin B. (2000).
Jean-Baptiste Greuze: The Laundress
'. Getty Publications. . The second version is now in the Fogg Museum, Harvard. At 39 x 31 cm, it is just slightly smaller than the Getty's, and also dated c. 1761. It was possibly created to allow a print to be made of the subject.

Background

French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze was a late eighteenth century

genre painter Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attached ...

who was influenced by seventeenth century Dutch and Flemish artists. He first exhibited at the Salon of 1755, receiving great attention for his genre painting ''Un Père de famille qui lit la Bible à ses enfàns'' (''Father Reading the Bible to His Children'').Hallam, John Stephen (2015).
Salon of 1755
" Paris Salon Exhibitions: 1667–1880. A History in Collage. Retrieved August 28, 2015. Note, this site is a continuation o
research
Hallam did at Pacific Lutheran University. Several years previously,

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promine ...

began publishing the first modern form of art criticism, and became one of Greuze's admirers after they met in 1759. Greuze achieved even greater success at the Salon of 1761 with '' L'Accordée de village''.Fredericksen, Burton (1997). "French School". In
Masterpieces of the J. Paul Getty Museum: Paintings
'. Getty Publications. p. 81. . Greuze was considered one of the greatest painters of his time, but his popularity began to decline by the 1780s. After the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

he lost everything and died penniless. Greuze was virtually forgotten by the art world for several centuries until his reemergence in the late twentieth century with the reappraisal of art from the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

Development and exhibition

Greuze likely began working on ''The Laundress'' sometime in July 1761, around the same time as ''L'Accordée de village''. In drawing upon Dutch and Flemish cabinet paintings, Greuze may have found inspiration in the style of

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

, and other artists and paintings such as Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin's '' The Kitchen Maid'' (1738), Gerrit Dou's ''Girl Chopping Onions'' (1646),

Gabriël Metsu Gabriël Metsu (1629–1667) was a Dutch painter of history paintings, still lifes, portraits, and genre works. He was "a highly eclectic artist, who did not adhere to a consistent style, technique, or one type of subject for long periods". On ...

's ''The Laundress'' (1650), and

Jan Steen Jan Havickszoon Steen (c. 1626 – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour. Life ...

's ''Girl Offering Oysters'' (1658-1660).Fort, Bernadette (2007).
The Greuze Girl: The Invention of a Pictorial Paradigm
" ''Studies in the History of Art'', Vol. 72, Symposium Papers XLIX: French Genre Painting in the Eighteenth Century, pp. 128-151. National Gallery of Art. Its development was influenced by Dutch

cabinet painting A cabinet painting (or "cabinet picture") is a small painting, typically no larger than two feet (0.6 meters) in either dimension, but often much smaller. The term is especially used for paintings that show full-length figures or landscapes at a s ...

and the imagery of the laundress made popular through a literary style known as '. Greuze exhibited a total of fourteen paintings at the Salon in September 1761, including ''The Laundress'' and ''L'Accordée de village''.

Description

The Laundress autograph replica Fogg Museum

A young maidservant bends over to wring out linen with her hands as she stares provocatively at the viewer with a sensual, flirting glance. She appears unkempt, wearing clothes which cover her body and red mules on her feet, but her ankle and foot are exposed suggesting a lack of sexual restraint. A ''marabout'', a kettle used for boiling water, is seated on a small table in the lower left frame.

Provenance

Greuze's patron, Ange-Laurent de La Live de Jully, was the original owner of the painting. After he sold it in 1770, it passed through multiple Swedish collections for several centuries, including those of Count Gustaf Adolph Sparre, his wife Countess Amelie (Ramel) Sparre, their grandson Count Gustaf Adolf Frederik de la Gardie, his father Count Jakob Gustaf de la Gardie, who without further issue sold the entire collection to Count Carl de Geer, who gifted the entire collection to his granddaughter Countess Elizabeth (von Platen) Wachtmeister, who first created the Wachtmeister family trust of paintings and had the original collection inventory from 1794 updated by the Swedish art historian Georg Göthe. Her grandson Count Gustav Axel Wachtmeister died in 1978, and the Wachtmeister Family trust began selling the paintings, selling the ''Laundress'' to the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1983.Provenance
" ''The Laundress (La Blanchisseuse)''. The J. Paul Getty Museum. Retrieved September 1, 2015.

Notes

References

External links

*
The Laundress
' at

The J. Paul Getty Museum The J. Paul Getty Museum, commonly referred to as the Getty, is an art museum in Los Angeles, California housed on two campuses: the Getty Center and Getty Villa. The Getty Center is located in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles and fea ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laundress 1761 paintings Paintings by Jean-Baptiste Greuze Paintings in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum Genre paintings