The Little Laundry Girl (La Petite Blanchisseuse)

1895-1896

The Little Laundry Girl represents the epitome of Pierre Bonnard’s explorations of japonisme, the influence and study of Japanese art among European artists in the late nineteenth century. Its bold color, oblique organization, and elevated viewpoint reflect the compositions of Japanese prints, which permeated the Parisian art scene in the 1860s and 1870s. This work, which aestheticizes child labor, was Bonnard’s first color print commissioned by Ambroise Vollard, marking a new and dynamic period of the artist’s career.