Washerwomen at the Fountain

Maker Hubert Robert (French, 1733 - 1808)

Additional Title(s)

Women Washing at a Fountain
Les Lavandières à la Fontaine

ClassificationsPAINTINGS

Dateca. 1770-1775

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions33 x 47 in. (83.8 x 119.4 cm.)

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Adele S. Browning Memorial Collection, gift of Mildred Browning Green and Honorable Lucius Peyton Green

Status

On view

Label TextThis painting shows one of Robert’s favorite subjects: washerwomen at work amid classical ruins. The implements of the women’s trade – washbasin, washboard, and paddle – are visible in the shadows at left. A Roman sarcophagus serves as the fountain. Robert had studied painting in Rome for more than a decade and had made extensive sketches of Rome’s ruined monuments. In his paintings, he often combined the features of various classical buildings into fanciful architectural ruins, populated by contemporary Roman workers or foreign tourists.

Object number78.20.18