Laundresses, 1893
Auguste Louis Lepèreexpand_more
Soft-ground etching and aquatintexpand_more
Bequest of Harry Drakeexpand_more 2013.35.580
Not on Viewexpand_more
For middle-class collectors in the late 19th century, this print would have seemed provocative and exotic. Rather than showing two upstanding, aristocratic women of different ages as a metaphor for the transience of life, Lepère featured two Parisian laundresses (40,000 strong at one time), low-paid working women who often fell into prostitution. Influenced by imported Japanese prints, for which prostitutes and actors were stock themes, Lepère also made use of Japanese printmakers’ artistic conventions, including the steep perspective, half-seen figures, and transparent pigments.
This etching is one of 896 works of art bequeathed to the museum by the late Harry Drake, a longtime and passionate patron of Mia.
Details
- Title
- Laundresses
- Artist Life
- Paris 1849–Domme, Dordogne 1918
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2013.35.580
- Provenance
- [Henri M. Petiet, born 1894, Paris]. [Richard Reed Armstrong Fine Art, Chicago, until 2002; sold in April for RROO, to Drake]; Harry Drake, St. Paul (2002-d. 2012; bequeathed to MIA)
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Lotz-Brissonneau 91 iii/iii
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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