The Laundresses

The Laundresses by Edgar Degas, executed between 1879 and 1880, is a masterful example of the artist’s dedication to modern life subjects, rendered here through the delicate mediums of etching and aquatint. This print belongs to a significant series in which Degas explored the strenuous, often hidden, labor of Parisian women in 19th-century France. Though primarily recognized as an Impressionist painter, Degas was a rigorous experimentalist in graphic arts, often combining multiple techniques to achieve nuanced tonal effects and compositions.

The etching component provides the necessary precision to define the figures and the environment, while the use of aquatint lends subtle, varied tones to the composition. This interplay of light and shadow, characteristic of the intaglio process, reflects the smoky or humid atmosphere typically found within a laundry house. The work captures the physical exhaustion and intimacy of labor, a common theme in Degas’s catalog which frequently focused on workers, including milliners and ballet dancers, caught in unguarded moments.

This exceptional print is currently held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, serving as a vital document of 19th-century French culture and artistic technique. Degas’s innovative approach to making prints allowed him to explore movement and form with great dexterity. As this work has transitioned into the public domain, high-quality images of these original prints are now widely accessible for study, cementing Degas’s reputation not only as a painter but as a profoundly skilled printmaker dedicated to capturing the realities of modern working life.