Getty Museum

Portrait of a Laundress

Date

1848–1850

Medium

Hand-colored daguerreotype

Culture

French

Department

Photographs

Institution

Getty Museum

The rigid pose of this household servant at work and her central placement within the oval frame are this portrait's key visual elements. Her hand grasps one of the tools of her trade, a bar of soap, as she prepares the cloth for washing. The laundress emerges from the murky surroundings with the direct gaze and rigid posture of a woman both proud of her work and perhaps somewhat suspicious of the camera.

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