In the collection of Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia — check current display status with the museum.
FROM THE BARNES FOUNDATION’S CATALOG
The Paris-born artist Jean-Siméon Chardin was one of the most popular painters of genre scenes, or images of daily life, during the 18th century. His paintings were sought by aristocratic patrons from across Europe, and many were turned into engravings, which brought him an even larger audience. Chardin's fascination with genre scenes contrasted with the large-scale history paintings that were prized by the French academic painters and that were a staple of the annual Salon exhibitions. This painting depicts a washwoman drawing water from a large copper urn. The objects around the room refer to the many duties she and her companion in the background perform in the household. The pans and hanging carcass allude to cooking meals, the broom and firewood to cleaning and warming the house, and the child in the background to child minding.
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Hendrik van der Burgh — After Milking Time
Abraham van Strij (I) — The Caldron Scrubber
Jan Havicksz. Steen — Woman scouring metalware
François Bonvin — The copper fountain; Kitchen Interior
Jean Siméon Chardin — The Attentive Nurse
Willem van Odekercken — Woman Scouring a Vessel
Henri Matisse — La Pourvoyeuse, d'après Chardin
Johannes Jelgerhuis — The Distillery of Apothecary A. d'Aill
François Bonvin — The Maid
Alexander Hugo Bakker Korff — De wafelbakster
Jean-François Millet (French, 1814–1875) — Woman Churning Bu
Jean-Baptiste Greuze — The Laundress (La Blanchisseuse)
