The Laundress
1896
Medium
lithograph in red, yellow-orange, brown, gray-black and gray-beige
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.16.5
Art Historical Context
Pierre Bonnard's *The Laundress* (1896) is a vibrant color lithograph that captures the quiet poetry of everyday life. Printed in bold hues of red, yellow-orange, brown, gray-black, and gray-beige, this work from the artist's early career showcases his innovative approach to printmaking. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection (Department CG-E), it exemplifies the flat, decorative patterns Bonnard favored, transforming a simple scene of a woman at her laundry into something luminous and intimate. As a key member of Les Nabis—a Post-Impressionist group influenced by Japane...
About the Artist
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947) was a French painter and printmaker who became a leading figure in the Post-Impressionist movement and a founding member of Les Nabis. Born on October 3, 1867, in Fontenay-aux-Roses, France, Bonnard initially studied law at his father's insistence, graduating and briefly practicing as a barrister in 1888. However, his true passion lay in art, and he had simultaneously at...