Lost Labor ("Trabajo perdido") 1807 - 1845

"Lost Labor," or "Trabajo perdido," was made by Leonardo Alenza, who was active in the first half of the 19th century. Executed in ink on paper, the image depicts a woman delousing a man, and refers to the plight of the poor and the out-of-work. Alenza's skilled use of line and shading brings a sense of realism to this domestic scene, and focuses attention on the textures of clothing, hair, and skin. The material qualities of the figures suggest hard labor and poverty. The act of delousing suggests a pre-industrial setting, where manual labor and personal hygiene were closely intertwined. Prints such as this, are, of course, relatively inexpensive to produce and were a powerful means of circulating social critique in Alenza’s time. The artist underscores the dignity of labor, and challenges the traditional hierarchies of fine art, which often overlooked the lives of ordinary people.